D3117: Assessing the impact of pigweed flea beetle in Amaranth viridis Linn yield and evaluating their management strategies

The increased demand for locally grown foods provides opportunities for small farmers to grow ethnic crops to serve diverse populations and create niche markets. Amaranth viridis Linn. (Amaranth), commonly called Callaloo, is highly nutritious, drought tolerant, and requires few inputs to grow. However, this ethnic crop is susceptible to different insect pests, which hinders the crop's growth, development, and marketable yield. The pigweed flea beetle, Disonycha glabrata, an important pest of amaranth, damage the crop by feeding on the foliage and creating small round holes. Two studies were conducted to 1) evaluate the application of organic insecticides (T1: Control, T2: Neem Oil, T3: Spinosad, T4: Sevin (Conventional insecticide)) and 2) evaluate the use of a trap crop (industrial hemp) planted at several distances (T1: 0ft, T2: 3ft, T3: 6ft, T4: 9ft) on yield and insect pressure of field-grown amaranth. The number of insects, total and marketable yield, and biomass were analyzed weekly. The number of insects collected from the insecticide and trap crop studies was significantly higher in the control treatments and significantly lower in the sevin and 9ft treatment, respectively. Marketable yield was also higher in the sevin and 9ft treatments when compared to the other treatments. The results of this study will provide small farmers with knowledge of IPM methods that can help them grow a healthy, high-yielding, marketable amaranth crop to cater to ethnically diverse consumers.