Journal of Eco-friendly Agriculture 19(2) 2024 411 doi: 10.48165/jefa.2024.19.02.29 Saleemali Kannihalli and V Rachappa Journal of Eco-friendly Agriculture 19(2): 411-416. 2024 doi: 10.48165/jefa.2024.19.02.29 ©2024 ISSN : 2229-628X (print) e-ISSN : 2582-2683 (online) An eco-friendly approach of managing pod fly, Melanagromyza obtusa in pigeonpea Saleemali Kannihalli* and V Rachappa Department of Agricultural Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur- 584 104, Karnataka, India. *Corresponding author: saleemalikannihalli@gmail.com ABSTRACT The field experiment was conducted during Kharif 2019-20 at ZARS, Kalaburagi, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur to study the influence of three sowing dates (20 th July, 5 th August and 20 th August and three varieties viz., TS 3R (mid early duration), GRG 811 (medium duration) and BSMR 736 (long duration) on the incidence of pod fly, Melanagromyza obtusa in pigeonpea. Results revealed that sowing of crop seed on 20 th July resulted in the lowest pod damage (29.33%) and seed damage (20.77%), followed by those sown on 5 th August. 20 th August sown pigeonpea showed significantly higher damages. Among varieties, TS 3R exhibited the least pod damage (28.80%) and seed damage (21.47%), contrasting with BSMR 736, a long-duration variety with higher damages (41.87% pod damage, 34.51% seed damage). The findings emphasize that advancing sowing dates and selecting early-maturing varieties can effectively decrease the pod fly infestation. Key words: Melanagromyza obtusa, pigeonpea, sowing dates, varieties.