Determining the effectiveness of different pesticide formulations against stem borer, Chilo partellus Swinhoe 1885 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), on Zea mays crop

Maize is cultivated in broad range of climatic conditions especially in warm area having sufficient supply of good quality of water and fertile soils. Maize is an important crop sown in major irrigated regions of Punjab and some parts of KPK in Pakistan and mainly used as poultry and animal feed. Various insect pest especially maize borer (Chilo partellus C.) pose a serious threat to maize crop, causing 20-50 % yield loss. Various insecticides are used to control this pest but the numerical data for the efficiency of certain pesticide is not available for Punjab region. So, for this purpose experiment was conducted, in which 5 pesticides Virtako 0.6%(G) 4Kgs/acre, Carbosuper 3%(G) 8Kgs/acre, Rector super 0.35% (G) 8Kgs/acre as granule Clothianidin as seed dresser 800 ml/10 kgs of seeds/acre and Match 5.2% (EC) 250ml/acre as spray were used in RCBD and results were checked after 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. All the results were statistically significant in ANOVA. It was found that Clothianidin was quite effective for early stages of growth but in long run, Virtako is most effective.