Cultural practices include all the crop production and management techniques which are utilized by the farmers to maximize their crop productivity and/ or farm income.

It includes decisions on crops/varieties to be grown, time and planting, tillage, field and crop sanitation, application of fertilizers and irrigation, harvesting times and procedures, and even off season operations in fallow/ cropped fields.

The manipulation of these practices for reducing or avoiding pest damage to crops is known as cultural control.

Cultural practices and resistant varieties in Tomato IPM

Next

Since cultural control manipulations are based on habit management and require a through understanding of different components of the agro ecosystem in which the pest thrive, this approach has also been called as ecological management or environmental control.

The purpose of cultural control practices is to make the environmental less favourable for the pest and /or more favorable for its natural enemies.

End Previous Next

Planting time The manipulation of planting time helps to minimize pest damage by producing asynchrony between host plant or synchronizing insect pest with their natural enemies or crop production with avalilable alternate host plants of the pest or by production followed by destruction of crop residues before the insect can enter diapause.

Plant spacingThe major objective in spacing is to obtain maximum high quality yield per unit area per unit time. But spacing may influence the population and damage of many insect pests by modifying the micro environment of the crop of affecting health, vigour and strength of the crop plants or pattern and duration of crop groth and development.TillageThe type and timing of tillage can markedly influence the soil environment and affect the survival of insect pests or their natural enemies. Fall ploughing is often helpful in reducing the overwintering population of Helicoverpa spp.

Types of cultural controls

End Previous Next

Plant diversityDeterrence of colonisation is probably one of the most promising means of controlling insect pests through intra field diversity, because only a little additional diversity in the crop field may have a profound effect on colonization by insects.

The diversity of the crop can be increased by intercropping , trap croping, presence of weeds or by crops grown in the adjacent fields.

Trap cropping is the planting of the pest‘s preferred vegetable variety before or during the presence of the main crop; the insects are attracted to the trap crop which is then destroyed.

Example: Potato can be planted before tomato to attract Root knot nematode to the potato trap crop.

End Previous Next

This technique involves planting usually one but sometimes more rows of an attractive plant species so that it encircles the less attractive main crop, and intercepts a migrating insect population.

By growing castor as a trap crop we can reduce, Spodoptera litura damage in tomato. Another consideration is that once the pest builds on the trap crop it has to be eliminated in some way so that it does not simply migrate to the main crop.

Crop rotation

Crop rotation replaces a crop that is susceptible to a particular pest with another crop that is not susceptible, on a rotating basis.

Crop rotation with french beans reduces the bacterial wilt disease incidence.

Crop rotation with cereals, sesame, mustard and marigold to reduce nematode infestation.

End Previous Next

Companion planting

Companion planting is planting an additional crop to attract natural enemies or makes it difficult for pests to find their more favored host crop.

Nutrient management

Excessive use of inorganic nitrogenous fertilizer create congenital conditions for many insect pests, particularly sucking pest.

End Previous Next

Mulch can come in different forms or colors. Reflective mulch can be used to reduce aphids, white flies and possibly leaf hopper populations which reduces virus transmission in tomato. Straw mulch laid between rows of plastic or used around plants to reduce weed growth can attract natural enemies.

End Previous Next

Helicoverpa armigera

•Do not plant other solanaceous crops after harvesting tomato.

• Never use tomato as rotation crop for corn, sorghum, cotton, and other solanaceous crops and vice versa. •Avoid planting tomato near corn or cotton or other solanaceous crops to prevent heavy pest infestations•Raise Nursery beds of least 10 cm high.

•Thin sowing with proper drainage facilities.

Some of the important cultural practices followed for different insect pests of Tomato

End Previous Next

Conti…..• Transplanting 25 days old healthy Tomato seedlings and 40 days old Marigold seedlings on every 16th row as a trap crop for H. Armigera management.

•Avoid excess dose of Nitrogen.

•The weeds such as Datura mittal, Gynandropisis gynandra, Acanthospermum hispidium and Chenapodium album should be removed.

End Previous Next

Marigold intercropped with Tomato Datura metal

Acanthospermum hispidium Chenapodium album

End Previous Next

Whiteflies•Do not plant tomato near crops that have whitefly infestation. •This would lead to early infestation of your crop and could ruin the whole field crop.•Plant Nicotania as a trap crop. •Whiteflies are attracted to Nicotiana, a flowering tobacco plant variety.•Abutilon indicum, Malvastrum tricuspidatum and Sida sp will harbour the pest population

Aphids•Cultivate and flood the field. This will destroy ant colonies and expose eggs and larvae to predators and sunlight. Ants use the aphids to gain access to nutrients from the plants. •Avoid using heavy doses of highly soluble nitrogen fertilizers. Aphids love tender, juicy leaves. Instead apply fertilizer into 3 phases: during seedling, vegetative, and reproductive stages of plant growth.

End Previous Next

Abutilon indicum,

Acalypha indica

Achyranthus aspera

End Previous Next

Spodoptera litura

•Plough the soil to expose and kill the pupae •Grow castor along border and irrigation channel as trap crop •Flood the field to drive out the hibernating larvae

•Interplant tomato with onion, garlic, peppermint, coriander, or garlic every 10-20 rows to repel cutworms and attract natural enemies.

•Sunflowers and cosmos can also be planted as a trap crop in or around fields

End Previous Next

Sunflower planted in the border rows of Tomato

Maize planted as a inter crop to attract natural enemy

End Previous Next

Leaf miner•Conservation of the natural enemies is an important aspect of leafminer management. •Maintain flowering grasses around field margins to provide habitat and food for natural enemies.Spider mites•Provide plants with adequate water. Water stressed plants are prone to damage by mites.•Avoid the use of broad spectrum insecticide for this may cause a mites' outbreak. •This practice kills the natural enemies of mites and stimulates mites' reproduction.

End Previous Next

Thrips•Tomato should not be planted after onions. •Volunteer onion plants should be removed as they attract thrips. •However, they can be used as trap crops.•Keep plants well-watered.

End Previous Next

Resistant varieties in Tomato

End Previous Next

Plant resistance has been used for decades to reduce pest problems. Some plants have physical and chemical variations that allow them to repel or tolerate pests. An example of this would be sweet corn varieties that have long, tight silk tubes which make it more difficult for worms or sap beetles to reach the ear. Another example is squash or pumpkin varieties that have resistance to certain viruses.

Resistant varieties of Tomato

Arka VikasA selection from a variable population of American tomato Tip Top; plants indeterminate, fruits medium large with uniform deep red colour, suitable for fresh market, tolerant to moisture stress, recommended for cultivation in Karnataka.Avinash 2 A heavy yielder, determinate, compact growing hybrid. Fruits semi oblong, medium sized, good coloured, uniform ripening, suitable for processing and tolerant to TLCV.

End Previous Next

BT 1, BT 10, BWR and LE 79-5 These varieties are resistant to bacterial wilt

HS 101A very promising variety; plants determinate, dwarf; fruits medium sized, round, borne in clusters of 3-4, juicy; suitable for winter season for northern india; tolerant to tomato leaf curl virus.

Hisar AnmolResistant to tomato leaf curl virus under field condition, plant habit determinate; fruits medium sized, round, red and fleshy.

Hisar LalitResistant to Root knot nematode; plant habit semi determinate, early ripening, fruits round, medium to large sized.

End Previous Next

Hisar AnmolResistant to tomato leaf virus under field condition, plant habit determinate, fruits medium sized, round, red and fleshy.NaveenAn early, determinate hybrids, fruits medium sized, smooth, intense red coloured; plants resistant to Fusarium and Verticilium wilts; fruit setting is excellent even during hot summer months; hybrid widely adapted.Pusa 120Resistant to root knot nematode, fruits medium to large sized, smooth, round, deep red and attractive; plant habit semi- determinate.RajniA very early, productive, determinate, processing type hybrid. Plants compact, fruits round, firm, medium-sized fruits with excellent colour and high TSS; Resistant to Fusarium and Verticillium wilt.

End Previous Next

Summary

•Cultural practices include all the crop production and management techniques which are utilized by the farmers to maximize their crop productivity and/ or farm income.

•Crops/varieties to be grown, time and planting, tillage, field and crop sanitation, application of fertilizers and irrigation, harvesting times and procedures, and even off season operations in fallow/ cropped fields are the important cultural control methods

•The manipulation of planting time helps to minimize pest damage by producing asynchrony between host plant or synchronizing insect pest with their natural enemies•The major objective in spacing is to obtain maximum high quality yield per unit area per unit time.

•Deterrence of colonisation is probably one of the most promising means of controlling insect pests through intra field diversity,

End Previous Next

•Excessive use of inorganic nitrogenous fertilizer create congenitial conditions for many insect pests, particularly sucking pest.

•Transplanting 25 days old healthy Tomato seedlings and 40 days old Marigold seedlings on every 16th row as a trap crop for H. Armigera management.

•Abutilon indicum, Malvastrum tricuspidatum and Sida sp will harbour the white fly population

•Sunflowers and cosmos can also be planted as a trap crop for Spodoptera litura in or around fields

End Previous Next

•Maize planted as a inter crop to attract natural enemy

•Arka Vikas - tolerant to moisture stress, Avinash 2 - tolerant to TLCV; BT 1, BT 10, BWR and LE 79-5 - Resistant to bacterial wilt; HS 101- tolerant to tomato leaf curl virus; Hisar Anmol - Resistant to tomato leaf curl virus ; Hisar Lalit - Resistant to Root knot nematode; Hisar Anmol - Resistant to tomato leaf virus under field condition; Naveen - resistant to Fusarium and Verticilium wilts; Pusa 120 -Resistant to root knot nematode; Rajni - Resistant to Fusarium and Verticillium wilt.

End Previous