Indian Journal of Entomology 84(1): 140-144 (2022) DoI.: 10.55446/IJE.2021.299 EVALUATION OF SOME IPM MODULES AGAINST RED ANT DORYLUS ORIENTALIS WESTWOOD IN POTATO Elangbam bidyarani dEvi*, badal bhattacharyya and SudhanSu bhagawati Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat 785013, Assam, India *Email: bidyaranielangbam@gmail.com (corresponding author) ABSTRACT Field experiments were conducted at Charaibahi village, Jorhat, Assam during 2015-17 to evaluate six ecofriendly IPM modules against red ants Dorylus orientalis Westwood in potato. Among the modules evaluated, Module-II (pre sowing treatment of mustard oil cake @ 150 kg/ ha+ wood ash 150 kg/ ha+ panchagavya @ 3% and soil drenching with neem oil @ 5 ml/ lit after 1 st and 2 nd earthing up (25 and 60 DAS) recorded the lowest tuber damage both in weight (8.65%) and number (10.70%) basis and found at par with the recommended package of practices (RPP) (application of malathion 5% dust @ 40 kg/ ha+ mustard oil cake @ 150 kg/ ha in the soil after 1 st and 2 nd earthing up) recording 8.18 and 10.20% tuber damage, respectively. The same module also recorded highest tuber yield (119.37 q/ ha) which was at par with the RPP (120.12 q/ ha). The maximum beneft cost ratio (1.41) was recorded in RPP followed by Module-II (1.33) and Module-VI (1.26). The untreated control plot registered a very high level of tuber damage (25.93 and 28.70 on weight and number basis, respectively) having maximum population of red ants (3.95 numbers/ m 2 ) with a tuber yield of 89.91 q/ ha. Key words: Dorylus orientalis, IPM modules, incidence, tuber damage, panchagavya, neem oil, mustard oil cake, wood ash, malathion, soil drenching, earthing up, yield, cost beneft Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important cash crop and a staple food item of Indian diet. India is the second largest producer of potato contributing to approximately12% of global production. As per the third advance estimate for 2018-19 (NHB), India produced 53.02 million tonnes of potatoes (Anon., 2018). Favourable subtropical climatic conditions of Assam also allows extensive potato cultivation both in the plains and hills with a production of 1072780 tonnes (Anon., 2017). Potato crop is attacked by many insect pests right from sowing of tubers to harvesting and storage causing potential yield loss. Among the various insect pests of potato, red ants Dorylus orientalis Westwood has long been considered as a major pest both in the plains and hills (Fletcher, 1914) causing extensive damage by making minute holes (2-3 mm diameter) to the underground tubers. Highest infestation is recorded at the time of harvesting which reduces tuber quality as well as market price makes them unft for human consumption (Bhandari, 2011). In severe cases, the tuber infestation may reach up to 50-90% (Roonwal, 1976 and Chowdhury, 1997). Limited literature available regarding management practices for red ants and available literature is biased toward insecticide based treatments including some of them are banned in our neighbouring country like Sri Lanka (Fernando and Manickavasagar, 1958) and Assam (Anon., 1965; Rahman, 1967). Despite being a pest of potato, concerted efforts for the ecofriendly IPM measures of red ants is still in infancy. Moreover, the North Eastern region is also tagged as “Organic hub of India” and hence the adoption of chemocentric agriculture cannot be overlooked. Considering the above facts, field experiments were carried out to evaluate some IPM management modules against red ants in potato. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiments were conducted in highly red ant endemic areas in the farmer’s feld of Charaibahi, Jorhat, Assam during 2015-17 to evaluate the effectiveness of six IPM modules in comparison with recommended package of practices and untreated control. The details of different modules are: i) Module-I: Pre sowing treatment of MOC @ 150 kg/ ha+ wood ash 150 kg/ ha+ panchagavya @ 3%; ii) Module-II: Pre sowing treatment of MOC @ 150 kg/ ha+ wood ash 150 kg/ ha+ panchagavya @ 3% and soil drenching with neem oil @ 5 ml/ l after 1 st and 2 nd earthing up (25 and 60 DAS); iii) Module-III: Pre sowing treatment of MOC @ 150 kg/ ha+ wood ash 150 kg/ ha+ panchagavya @ 3% and soil drenching with jatropha oil @ 5 ml/