Indian Journal of Entomology Online published Ref. No. e23853 DoI. No.: 10.55446/IJE.2023.853 ASSESSMENT OF ELECTROSTATIC SPRAYER AGAINST CITRUS PSYLLA DIAPHORINA CITRI KUWAYAMA IN KINNOW MANDARIN Mandeep pathania 1 *, parshotaM KuMar arora 1 and urvi sharMa 1 1 Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Abohar 152116, Punjab, India *Email: mpathania@pau.edu (corresponding author): ORCID ID 0000-0001-7260-213X ABSTRACT Field experiments were conducted to evaluate and standardize the effciency of electrostatic sprayer for checking citrus psylla Diaphorina citri population in kinnow mandarin orchards using the recommended insecticide imidacloprid @ 0.0071% and compared to standard knapsack sprayer and tractor mounted power sprayer. The results revealed that the use of electrostatic sprayer was signifcantly effcient in reducing >30% spray volume, covered signifcant more area (4.8-5.6 ha/ day), is labour saving (1 labour per operation) and much effective in reducing D. citri population by >80% after 14 days of spray in kinnow mandarin orchards. Key words: Citrus, kinnow mandarin, Diaphorina citri, seasonal incidence, spray technology, electrostatic sprayer, management, imidacloprid, knapsack sprayer, spray volume, labour In Punjab, Kinnow mandarin occupies a prominent place in terms of acreage and production although other citrus cultivars viz. mandarin, sweet orange, grapefruit, lime and lemons are also gaining importance in the region. Many of the biotic stresses (diseases and insect- pests) contribute to the qualitative and quantitative losses in citrus fruit crop. Among the major insect- pests attacking this crop citrus psylla, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama is the most serious as it inficts damage in multifarious ways i.e. it devitalizes the plant by sucking cell sap, secretes honeydew that captivate sooty mould fungus growth and impairs photosynthesis. Moreover, it vectors the fastidious bacterium, responsible for citrus greening disease that ultimately contributes to citrus decline. To avoid these undue pest losses, various spray operations are done. Traditionally, the high volume knapsack sprayers and tractor mounted power sprayers are been used in kinnow orchards which are simple, cost-effective and exhibit easy operability (Bateman and Jessop 2008 and Roten et al., 2013) but lacks in terms of their targeted delivery, distribution and penetration to the target host in tree crops which contributed in over application of pesticides and reduced pest control (high does, frequent applications etc). Moreover, their energy use effciency in terms of manpower and spray coverage is also less. These are labour-intensive, time consuming and exhibit high application costs. Signifcant revolution in spray technology is marked with the application of electrostatic sprayers the use of which overall increases the bio-effcacy and deposition effciency of pesticides (Hoffmann et al., 2007; Patel et al., 2015; Ukran et al., 2016 and Patel 2016). These electrostatic sprayers are effective in controlling the pest with impending reduction of over usage of insecticides (Kabashima et al., 1995 and Gossen et al., 2008). Under Punjab feld conditions, the comparative evaluation of electrostatic sprayer over the traditional sprayers demonstrated that the electrostatic sprayer was signifcant in terms of bio-effcacy in cotton crop which resulted due to improved droplet density, spray deposition, and higher area coverage (Patel et al., 2016 and Patel et al., 2017). The application of electrostatic spray technology has already been demonstrated in many crops showing signifcant enhanced effciency as discussed above. In citrus orchards, the introduction/procurement of these electrostatic sprayers for application of pesticides has been undertaken in recent years by different farmers in Punjab. However, their efficiency and delivery parameters are not quantifed and standardized. Hence, this study was undertaken to compare the effciency of electrostatic sprayer with the conventionally used sprayers in delivering the spray solutions and managing the in kinnow mandarin. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiments were carried out at the experimental farm of the Punjab Agricultural University Regional Research Station, Abohar, India (30°08'N; 74°12'E and 185.78 amsl). The area is semi-arid, characterized by hot and dry weather and receives 75-300 mm of annual rainfall most of which befalling between July to September months. The study was conducted on