Relative Toxicity of Abamectin 1.9 EC to Egg Parasitoid, Trichogramma chilonis Ishii and Egg Larval Parasitoid, Chelonus blackburni (Cam.)

Laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the safety of Abamectin 1.9 EC along with spinosad, cypermethrin and endosulfan to the egg parasitoid, Trichograma chilonis Ishii and the egg larval parasitoid, Chelonus blackburni (Cam.). The results revealed that abamectin 1.9 EC at all the doses tested had lesser adverse effect on the emergence of the Trichogramma adults compared to cypermethrin and endosulfan and also to its parasitisation potential. Similarly, abamectin at all concentrations caused lower mortality of C. blackburni compared to cypermethrin and endosulfan. The highest dose of abamectin tested recorded only 6.7 per cent adult mortality at 12 h after treatment (HAT). After 24 h of exposure, the mortality rate progressively increased in abamectin treatments. But endosulfan and cypermethrin at 420 g and 70 g a.i ha^-1 registered the highest mortality of 53.3 and 76.7 per cent, respectively even at 6 HAT. The same trend was also noticed in adult emergence.