Sapana Acharya¹ , Shraddha Gotame Sunar¹ , Roshan Khanal¹ , Suruchi Aryal¹ , Dikshya Subedi² , Santosh Marahatta³ , Roshan Ghimire¹

1 Faculty of Agriculture, Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU), Rampur, Chitwan, 44100, Nepal
2 Department of Agri Botany and Conservation Ecology, Faculty of Agriculture, Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU), Rampur, Chitwan, 44100, Nepal
3 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU), Rampur, Chitwan, 44100, Nepal
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Horticulture, 2024, Vol. 14, No. 4   doi: 10.5376/ijh.2024.14.0025
Received: 04 Jun., 2024    Accepted: 15 Jul., 2024    Published: 13 Aug., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Acharya S., Sunar S.G., Khanal R., Aryal S., Subedi D., Marahatta S., and Ghimire R., 2024, Control strategies of American leaf miner (Tuta absoluta) (Meyrick) adopted by farmers in Lalitpur District, Nepal, International Journal of Horticulture, 14(4): 223-236 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2024.14.0025)

This study evaluates the control strategies adopted by vegetable farmers in Lalitpur, Nepal, to combat Tuta absoluta during April-May 2023. Five wards in Godawari municipality were selected due to the significant infestation of Tuta absoluta. A total of 70 households were chosen through random sampling. Data collection methods included pre-tested interviews, Focus Group Discussions, and Key Informant Surveys for primary information, while secondary information was obtained from relevant publications. The primary vegetables grown were tomato, potato, cauliflower, cabbage, and onion. Farmers faced major issues with diseases and pests, particularly blight and Tuta absoluta, which caused yield losses up to 90%, with an average loss of 56%. While 35.7% of farmers used chemical pesticides, 71.4% relied on botanical pesticides and cultural methods. Among control measures, botanical methods were rated most effective with a relative index of 0.933. The study highlights the pressing need for integrated pest management training, as only 25.7% of farmers had received it, and underscores the significance of botanical methods in managing Tuta absoluta effectively. 

Biopesticides; Pest control strategies; Tuta absoluta control; Vegetable