An eco-friendly approach of managing pod fly, Melanagromyza obtusa in pigeonpea

A field experiment was conducted during Kharif 2019-20 at ZARS, Kalaburagi, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur to study the influence of three sowing dates (20th July, 5th August and 20th August and three varieties viz., TS 3R (mid early duration), GRG 811 (medium duration) and BSMR 736 (long duration) on the incidence of pod fly, Melanagromyza obtusa in pigeonpea. Results revealed that, sowing on 20th July resulted in the lowest pod damage (29.33 %) and seed damage (20.77 %), followed by 5th August, while 20th August sown pigeonpea showed significantly higher damages. Among varieties, TS 3R exhibited the least pod damage (28.80 %) and seed damage (21.47 %), contrasting with BSMR 736, a long-duration variety with higher damages (41.87 % pod damage, 34.51 % seed damage). The findings emphasize that advancing sowing dates and selecting early-maturing varieties like can effectively decrease the infestation due pod fly.