ABSTRACT
Insect pests which may affect sesbanias and which may limit their productivity as crops include leaf webbers and other leaf feeders, and stem borers. Because of the rapid growth of many sesbanias, annual species in particular, a crop may offer large amounts of succulent stems for infestation during its exponential growth phase. Only limited work on biological control of pests of Sesbania species has come to our attention. Sithanantham, observed Aspergillustamarii as a pathogen on the Sesbania stem borer. Only limited work on biological control of pests of Sesbania species has come to our attention. There was very little information on chemical control of insect pests in Sesbania crops. Sclerotiumrolfsii caused wilt in several accessions of S. sesban during unusually dry weather in Hawaii. Use of soil fumigation to control the pest increased plant dry matter yield by more than 10 times, and N yield by more than 20 times as compared to the yield of plants in non-fumigated plots.
