Venkata Rami Reddy P.

(During the Period of 2019-2023) 

1. A non-chemical management schedule involving entomopathogen, Metarhizium anisopliae (oil formulation @ 0.5ml/L) and azadirachtin was standardized for management of leafhoppers (Idioscopus sp.) on mango  and thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis) on grapes.
2. Studies on mango stem borer, Batocera rufomaculata: A simple stem trapping technique was standardised to collect and monitor tree trunk borers. It also helped in capturing  and killing the beetles. Borer infestation was studied in relation to spacing and rootstock. Trees of ‘Alphonso’ planted at a closer spacing (3 x 3 m) with Vellaikulamban root stock suffered significantly highest damage (42.5%).
3. Developed a product  viz., ‘Arka Borer Control’ (ABC) to manage trunk borers especially Batocera rufomaculata on mango
4. Developed  distribution map of invasive mango fruit borer, Ctripestis eutraphera and also an IPM module to manage the pest. Varietal preference and infestation pattern was also studied.
5. Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) for fruit fly management: For the first time studies were taken up in collaboration with BARC, Mumbai and optimized the radiation dose for sterilization. A dose of 50 Gy was found to be optimum while the dose above 60Gy resulted in higher mortality.
6. Compatibility of insecticides and fungicides in mango: Through field and laboratory studies, established the physical and chemical compatibility of 6 insecticides with 7 fungicides  to manage insect pests and diseases in mango, onion, chillies and tomato.
7. Pollinator Studies
8. Standardised a technology to use native honey bees (Apis cerana) and stingless bees (Tetragonula iridipennis) for poly-house pollination of cucurbitaceous crops like muskmelon, ridge gourd, cucumbers and watermelon.
9. Mass rearing of pollinator: Developed an artificial diet and a protocol for mass multiplication of Chrysomya megacephala, an important pollinator of mango and several other horticultural crops. This technology enables farmers to augment pollinator population in the field during flowering period.
10. A simple bottle trap with a semi synthetic diet was developed to augment mango pollinator,   Chrysomya megacephala in the field.
11. Conducted in depth studies to understand the impact of climate change on pollinators of mango, onion and watermelon. Established the thermal sensitivity of major pollinators and found that Dipteran pollinators like Chrysomya megacephala are more adoptable to temperature variations than bees.
12. Documented the pollinator diversity of mango across major mango belts in India. Five species viz., Apis florea, Chrysomya megacephala, Stomorhina discolor, Eristalis arvorum and Tetragonula iridipennis  were found to be the major pollinators is different regions. Impact of pollinators on seed and fruit set in mango, onion and watermelon was studied and quantified.
13. Impact of elevated temperature and CO2 on the biology and foraging behaviour of pollinators (Apis cerana, Chrysomya megcephala) was studied.