Implementation of Integrated Pest and Disease Management programme in irrigated cauliflower crop led to reduction in number of conventional pesticide sprays by 50-60 %. The safer biorational pesticides, insect growth regulators and cultural methods of pest management as introduced in the IPM programme were well received by the farmers in farmers' participatory trainings (FPT). Lower insect and disease incidence with higher curd production was observed in the IPM fields as compared to conventional non IPM fields. Furthermore the module was able to drag the cost of crop protection down by 45 percent resulting in higher benefit-cost ratio. The IPM module led to reinforcement of natural enemies resulting in sustainable and stable pest control regime warranting less pesticide application. Cotesia glomeratus L. was found parasitizing the larvae of Spodoptera litura F. in IPM fields whereas there was no parasitization in non IPM fields. Post implementation evaluation of the IPM programme revealed that the farmers were educated about the right choice of pesticides, proper time and dose of application, pest monitoring and application of pesticides based on action threshold. Increase in participation of women in the IPM programme was ensured by educating them about the mechanical management of S. litura.

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The goal of this study was to develop locality-specific eco-friendly integrated management technology for Lipaphis pseudobrassicae (Davis), an aphid pest of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) at the flowering and pod formation stages. Treatments applied to L. pseudobrassicae were sprays of neem seed powder extract (5 g/l of water), azadirachtin (9 ppm), imidacloprid 70 WS as a seed coating (5 g/kg seed), and the entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) and Lecanicillium lecanii (Zimmermann) (10 8 conidia/g of formulation). Each treatment was applied alone or followed by one spray of 0.025% methyl demeton. The results indicate that, instead of two sprays of methyl demeton, aphids can be effectively controlled by one spray of azadirachtin at 60 days post-sowing followed by another spray of methyl demeton at 75 days post-sowing. This is also supported by the higher net returns, Rs 14260/ha, which was comparable to two sprays of methyl demeton (Rs 16760/ha). Seed treatment with imidacloprid or neem seed powder extract followed by methyl demeton spray at 75 days postsowing were second best options for aphid management.

Leaf rot of cauliflower caused by Choanephora cucurbitarum is reported for the first time in India. Koch's postulates were fulfilled for the first time for this fungushost association demonstrating that C. cucurbitarum, known to be the pathogen behind soft rot on numerous hosts is also a pathogen of cauliflower.Keywords Brassica oleracea . Mucorales . Soft rot . Vegetable diseases . Zygomycota Choanephora cucurbitarum (Mucorales) is an important plant pathogen that causes soft rot of floral parts and fruits of many plants, including summer squash, pumpkin, pepper and okra (Agrios 1997). Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) is an important crop in India and any diseases found on this host are of potential agricultural and economic relevance.In September 2012, 2013 and 2014, leaves of an early variety of cauliflower (cv Early Kuary) bearing typical soft rot symptoms, accompanied by superficial fungal growth were collected at Palarikhurd Village, Sonipat (28°59′26.53″ N; 77°00′57.30″ E; 249 m a.s.l.), Haryana, India. Disease symptoms were observed and photographed in the field. Samples were taken for later examination in the laboratory. Fragments of infected leaves bearing pin head-like fungal growth were surface sterilized by dipping in 1 % sodium hypochlorite for 1 min and rinsing once with sterilized distilled water and aseptically transferred to plates containing PDA (potato dextrose-agar) and left at room temperature for 48 h. Homogeneous cultures were obtained and one was selected for further study and deposited in the Indian Type Culture Collection (ITCC 7521).Slides were prepared by mounting a colony fragment in lactophenol. The fungal structures were observed under a microscope (Olympus, Magnus MLXi). The morphological and cultural characters of the fungus were recorded and compared with published descriptions of soft rot-fungi (Kwon et al. 2001;Kagiwada et al. 2010). Profuse and rapidly growing white mycelium was formed on PDA after 36 h. Sporangiophores bearing apical sporangiola were formed. Sporangia were sub-globose (35 -85 μm diam) and monosporus sporangiola were elliptic, fusiform or ovoid (8-13× 11-22 μm) (Fig. 1c). Sporangiospores were elliptic, fusiform or ovoid (7-10.5 × 10-27 μm), brown, with or without three or more thin appendages at both ends (Fig. 1d). This morphology is typical of C. cucurbitarum as described by Kwon et al. (2001) and Kagiwada et al. (2010).Identity of the fungus involved on cauliflower leaf rot was further investigated by comparison of ITS and TEF sequences of ITCC 7521 with GenBank data (White et al. 1990).Genomic DNA was extracted from the pure culture of C. cucurbitarum through the cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) method with slight modifications (Karthikeyan et al. 2010). DNA extracted by adding chloroform: isoamyl alcohol in the ratio of 24:1centrifuged at 12,000 rpm/10 min * Robin Gogoi