~ 282 ~ Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2017; 5(1): 282-284 E-ISSN: 2320-7078 P-ISSN: 2349-6800 JEZS 2017; 5(1): 282-284 © 2017 JEZS Received: 12-11-2016 Accepted: 13-12-2016 Imtiaz Khan Departmet of Plant Protection The University of Agriculture Peshawar-Pakistan Shah Alam Khan Departmet of Plant Protection The University of Agriculture Peshawar-Pakistan Saddam Hussain Departmet of Plant Protection The University of Agriculture Peshawar-Pakistan Fazal Maula Agriculture Research Institute Mingora Swat-Pakistan Hayat Ali Shah Departmet of Plant Protection The University of Agriculture Peshawar-Pakistan Toheed Iqbal Department of Entomology The University of Agriculture Peshawar-Pakistan Anees Khan Department of Plant Protection The University of Agriculture Peshawar-Pakistan Correspondence Imtiaz Khan Department of Plant Protection The University of Agriculture Peshawar-Pakistan To study the infestation level and effective chemical control of pomegranate fruit borer ( Virachola isocrates ) Imtiaz Khan, Shah Alam Khan, Saddam Hussain, Fazal Maula, Hayat Ali Shah, Toheed Iqbal and Anees Khan Abstract Keeping in view the importance of pomegranate fruit borer (Virachola isocrates) different insecticides, Cypermethrin, Bifenthrin, Lambda-Cyhalothrin and Methomyl were tested against pomegranate fruit borer at Agriculture Research Institute Mingora Swat during summer 2015. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design, with three replications. Each replication was assigned with 5 treatments (Cypermethrin, lambda cyhalothrin, Methomyl, Bifenthrin and Control). Results showed that all the chemical application proved significantly better from control plot. Most effective was Lambda- Cyhalothrin which reduced the infestation level from 6.98 to 1.68 followed by methomyl (1.73), bifenthrin (2.05) and cypermethrin (2.58). Highest average infestation (8.14) was recorded in control plots. Keywords: Chemical, infestation, borer and pomegranate 1. Introduction The pomegranate, (Punica granatum), belongs to family Lythraceae. An attractive shrub or small tree, with average height of 20-30 feet, the pomegranate is much-branched, more or less spiny and extremely long-lived. The leaves are evergreen or deciduous, showy flowers are singly or 5 in cluster form [16] . The fruit has leathery skin or rind, basically yellow more or less overlaid with light or deep pink or rich red. The interior is separated by membranous walls and white spongy tissue into compartments packed with transparent sacs filled with tart, flavorful, fleshy, juicy, red, pink or whitish pulp. In each sac, there is one white or red, angular, soft or hard seed. The seeds represent about 52% of the weight of the whole fruit [16] . Pomegranate produce best on deep, heavy loams, but are adapted to many soil types from pure sand to heavy clay. Growth on alkaline soil is poor. Optimum growth is associated with deep fairy heavy, moist soil of pH (5.5-7.0) [18] . It is widely cultivated throughout the Middle East and Caucasus region, North Africa and Tropical Africa, the India subcontinent, Central Asia, and the drier parts of Southeast Asia. In recent years, it has become more common in the commercial markets of Europe and the Western Hemisphere [16] . The pomegranate fruit could be considered a functional food because it has valuable compounds in different parts of the fruit that display functional and medicinal effects. These can act as antioxidant [5] , as anti-tumoral [13] or anti-hepatotoxic [6] agents, and improve cardiovascular health [7] . They have been seen to have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antidiabetic properties [10, 15, 12, 22] and they can improve oral [8] and skin [3] health. They help prevent Alzheimer's disease [20] and improve sperm quality [21] and erectile dysfunction in male patients [11] . According to the broodier published by Pakistan Agriculture Research, 2015 about the importance of pomegranate among the Muslim countries, Afghanistan, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States are noted producers and exporters of fresh pomegranates. Other major producers are India, China and USA. In Pakistan, Balochistan is the main producer of pomegranates, although Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab are also producing pomegranates in isolated areas on a small scale.