~ 814 ~ The Pharma Innovation Journal 2022; SP-11(2): 814-819 ISSN (E): 2277- 7695 ISSN (P): 2349-8242 NAAS Rating: 5.23 TPI 2022; SP-11(2): 814-819 © 2022 TPI www.thepharmajournal.com Received: 22-12-2021 Accepted: 24-01-2022 Sundar Pal Teaching Cum Research Associate, Department of Entomology, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Uttar Pradesh, India Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi Dean, College of Agriculture, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India David Chella Baskar Assistant Professor, Department of Agriculture Economics, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India Pradeep Kumar Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India Amit Kumar Patel Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, Dr. C.V. Raman University, Chhattisgarh, India Arvind Parmar Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, Sam Global University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India Vishal Sarsiya Teaching Associate, Department of Entomology, Mandsaur University, Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, India Corresponding Author Sundar Pal Teaching Cum Research Associate, Department of Entomology, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Uttar Pradesh, India Efficacy of insecticides against pod borer complex in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) Sundar Pal, Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, David Chella Baskar, Pradeep Kumar, Amit Kumar Patel, Arvind Parmar and Vishal Sarsiya Abstract Background: Pigeonpea is one of the most widely grown pulse crop in India, and farmers should use recommended pesticides to harvest good yield instead of using ineffective and unknown agrochemicals. Methods: A field trial was conducted at RLBCAU, Jhansi, (India), to study efficacy of Beauveria bassiana, chlorantraniliprole, cypermethrin, emmamectin benzoate, indoxacarb, profenophose, quinalphos, and spinosad against leaf webber, (Maruca vitrata Geyer), pod borer, (Helicoverpa armigera), and pod fly, (Melanagromyza obtuse) affecting pigeonpea crop during Kharif season 2020. Result: Spinosad had the most extended residual effect on pigeonpea against all the insects, thus been able to save more than 90% of the pod and grain from insect damage, as well as reduce larval populations by 90%. The spinosad treated plots provided the higher benefit cost ratio and grain yield. Keywords: efficacy, Helicoverpa armigera, Insecticides, Maruca vitrata, Melanagromyza obtuse Introduction Pulses are the world's most popular food, with India producing about 25% of global production, consuming 27%, and using 34% (Shukla and Mishra, 2020) [19] . Pigeonpea, the second important pulse crop after chickpea, is often grown in semi-arid and tropical regions of India (Sarkar et al., 2020) [13] . In India, about 150 species of insects attack pulse crops (Seetharamu et al., 2020). There are 38 species of Lepidopteran insects those damage pigeonpea crops worldwide (Shanower et al., 1999) [15] . Pigeonpea crop is damaged severely by the gram pod borer, (Helicoverpa armigera Hubner); leaf webber, (Maruca vitrata Geyer), pod fly, (Melanagromyza obtusa Malloch), plume moth, (Exelastis atomosa Walsingham), and pod bugs. Under affirmative conduction, Helicoverpa armigera dislodged 60-90% of the grain yield, and Melanagromyza obtusa ranged from 10 to 90% (Durairaj, 2006) [4] . According to Randhawa and Verma (2011) [11] , 26-28% of flower damage in pigeonpea was caused by M. vitrata whereas Singh and Singh (1990) reported that a variety of Hemipteran insects caused average 50% yield loss in pigeonpea. Management stratagies were chalked out based on the economic threshold level for Maruca vitrata (4.19 webs/plant), Manohar and Kumar, 2017); Helicoverpa armigera (2-4% pod infestation), Goyal et al., 1990) [5] , and Melanagromyza obtusa (4.60% pod damage), (Chiranjeevi and Patange, 2017) [3] . A pod borer was recognized during the 44 th and 45 th standard weeks of the Kharif season (Yadav et al., 2021) [6] . Farmers successfully implement crop protection strategies proposed by scientists but farmers usually think that insect pest can be managed by only chemicals. Weeds, insect pests, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes are among the biotic stresses curbing pigeonpea productivity (Singh et al., 2020) [21] . The farmscape approach is an adequate and reliable eco-friendly superintendence artifice (Sujayanand et al., 2021) [18] . In pigeonpea crude protein and soluble sugar content were used to identify pod infestations where fat, phenol, and tannin content were also associated with insect pest resistance (Jat et al., 2021) [6] . Therefore, a study was conducted in Bundelkhand to recommend insecticides those can be used by farmers to protect pigeonpea crops from insect pests infestation. The excessive use of insecticides may result in insecticidal resistance (Kranthi et al., 2002) [8] and the resurgence of secondary insect pests, leading to yield losses may be seen. Materials and Methods Study location The experiment was carried during Kharif 2020 at the Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural