LAUSR

A field study was carried out to assess the efficacy of some botanicals in the control of field insect pests in two varieties of okra. Dry leaf extract of Chromolaena odorata (Siam weed) and fresh and dry root extracts of Boerhavia diffusa served as treatments which were compared with Lambda-cyhalothrin and a control. The experiment was fitted into a randomized complete block design with three replications. Data collected were subjected to Spearman’s correlation analysis and a two-way analysis of variance and significant different means were separated using Fishers Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at 5 % level of probability. The results revealed that treated plants generally performed better than the untreated plants as they were taller, had more leaves, branches, wider stem girths and gave higher fruit yield. Fresh root extract of B. diffusa performed better in most parameters measured. A significant positive correlation was observed between insect pest populations, and between growth and yield parameters, while there was a significant negative correlation between overall yield and insect pest population. NHAe 47-4 okra variety performed better than F1-Lucky variety. Fresh root extract of B. diffusa is recommended for management of B. tabaci (Genadius, 1889) and Amrasca biguttula Ishida, 1912 in okra.