Evaluation of Quality of Trichogramma chilonis Ishii from Different Production Units in India

The post-shipment quality of parasitized egg cards of Trichogramma chilonis Ishii obtained from nine production units in South India was evaluated. Evaluations included the number of parasitized eggs per card, per cent parasitism, per cent adult emergence, sex-ratio and parasitizing efficiency on the target host. There was a lot of variation in the card size and the number of eggs per card. The parasitism was more than 90 per cent in the tricho-cards supplied by two units. The adult emergence and sex-ratio was as per the quality standards, Considering the recommendation of 1,50,000 parasitized eggs per hectare of cotton, only three units could reach the quality standards. The parasitizing efficiency of T. chilonis supplied by two units was less than 50 per cent and parasitism ranged between 60 and 73 per cent in the others. There is a need for regulatory agencies to periodically evaluate the quality of Trichogrammatids produced by insectaries based on simple and reliable methods. Trichogramma producers should reach a consensus with respect to the method of producing Tricho-cards and recommendations to be given to farmers. This would ensure the proper utility of Trichogrammatids in biocontrol programmes.