COMPARATIVE EFFICACY AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF CONVENTIONAL AND BIOLOGICAL INSECTICIDES ON TORTOISE BEETLE, CASSIDA VITTATA VILL (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE) AND BENEFICIAL PREDATORS IN SUGAR BEET FIELDS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Environmental Protection - Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences - Arish University.

2 Plant Protection Research Institute, Agriculture Research Centre, 12619 Giza, Egypt.

3 Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, South Valley University

Abstract

The tortoise beetle, Cassida vittata Vill (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is a major pest threatening sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) cultivation in Egypt, often resulting in severe foliage and root damage, as well as substantial yield losses. This field study, conducted over the 2022 /2023 and 2023/2024 growing seasons at Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, evaluated the comparative efficacy and ecological impact of two conventional insecticides, lambda-cyhalothrin and a Pyriproxyfen + Bifenthrin mixture, and two alternative insecticides, emamectin benzoate and indoxacarb. All insecticides significantly reduced C. vittata populations, achieving average reductions exceeding 85% in 2022/2023 and over 93% in 2023/2024 with no statistically significant differences among treatments (P > 0.05). However, marked differences emerged in their effects on beneficial predators. Conventional insecticides caused severe and prolonged reductions in populations of green lacewings (Chrysoperla spp.) and lady beetles (Coccinella spp.), with average reductions exceeding 82% across both seasons. In contrast, the biological insecticides demonstrated significantly lower impact, maintaining predator reductions to 55- 67% (P < 0.05). These findings underscore the suitability of emamectin benzoate and indoxacarb as selective insecticides that strike a balance between high pest suppression and improved ecological safety. Overall, the results support the integration of biological insecticides into sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) programs for sugar beet cultivation in Egypt, reducing ecological disruption while 

Keywords

Menoufia Journal of Plant Protection
Volume 10, Issue 7
September 2025
Pages 103-111

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