Diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella (Linneaus) is one of the most destructive pests of crucifers viz., cabbage, cauliflower radish, knol khol, turnip, beet root, mustard and rape seed in India. The loss in yield caused by the pest varies from 31-100%. The detailed life history as studied by various authors is presented. The pest incidence is generally more during February to September, though it is noticed throughout the year. Population of four or more medium sized larvae (3 rd and 4 th instars) could render a seedling un-transplantable. One standard hole of size 0.5 to 1.00 cm in diameter is taken as the visual damage threshold for insecticide application. The list of natural enemies recorded on DBM is summarized. The management of DBM through cultural, botanical, IGR's, microbial and chemical methods is discussed. DBM is the first crop pest in the world to develop resistance to DDT and Bacillus thuringiensis. The reported cases of resistance development to insecticides and various components of integrated resistance management is summarized. Integrated management of DBM using Indian mustard as trap crop is most promising. This involves planting of paired mustard rows for every 25 rows of cabbage and two sprays with 0.05% cartap hydrochloride to manage the pest on the main crop and spraying the trap crop with 0.1% dichlorvos at 10 to 15 days interval.

Bauhinia purpurea L. is one of the important avenue tree species used in garden, road side plantations and other places. Fresh seed produce good germination upto 75 to 100 per cent. Seeds of this species stored for five months produced less germination (38.00 %) and it could be due to seed dormancy. Hence, the present study was carried out to evaluate different seed treatments to enhance seed germination in stored seeds of B. purpurea. Treatment like soaking seeds in hot water for 2 min to 5 min followed by overnight soaking in normal water resulted in highest germination of about 59.00 per cent over control (40.00%). Significant variation for germination parameters such as mean daily germination, germination rate index and germination value as well as early seedling vigour was recorded among different pre-sowing treatments in stored seeds.

Amongst the several factors attributed for lower productivity of Arecanut, damage by root grubs is substantially important in Malnad belt of Uttar Kannada district. The root grubs cause damage to the arecanut tree by directly feeding on roots resulting in symptoms like yellowing of leaves, stem tapering at the crown region, reduced inter-node length, nut fall and ultimately leads to reduced vigour, yield and death of plant. To manage this insect, usually insecticides are recommended but farmers of this district are reluctant to use chemical pesticides due to the deleterious effects on soil health, fauna and lora. Indigenous technical knowledge followed by the farmers were documented in 15 villages of three taluks viz., Sirsi, Siddapur and Yellapur and based on scientiic validation, an on farm trial was conducted to evaluate the feasibility and economic viability of aqueous extract of soap nut and neem oil 5 % mixture and entomopathodenic fungi, Metarrihizium anisopliae 2 X 10 8 conidia /g @ 20 g per palm tree against root grubs in arecanut during 2009-12 at farmers' ields. The results revealed that the recommended practice i.e. drenching with chlorpyrifos 20 EC @ 10 ml/l of water (3-4l of solution per palm tree) recorded highest grub mortality of 86.83 per cent as against 64.88 per cent in aqueous extract of soap nut and neem oil 5 % mixture treated palms. Appearance of new healthy green frond and improvement in the growth of the palms are the visual indicators. Neem oil and soap nut extract was the best alternative to chemical insecticides, locally available and is ecofriendly.

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Lac is a commercial crop produced by lac insect, Kerria lacca (Kerr) (Homoptera: Tachardiidae) as a protective covering on its body and is exploited mainly for resin, dye and wax. Lac cultivation is mainly concentrated in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,West Bengal states of India. Karnataka being non-traditional area, efforts were initiated in collaboration with ICAR-Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums, Ranchi, to introduce kusmi strain lac. KVK Uttara Kannada, Sirsi studied the performance of lac cultivation on Kusum tree, Schleichera oleosa for a period of three years. Results showed that yield levels were slightly higher in rainy season crop compared to winter season.