International Journal of Horticulture, 2024, Vol.14, No.4, 223-236 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 228 Table 4 Ranking of pests of tomato on the basis of severity in Godawari, Lalitpur Pests of tomato P1 P2 P3 Index Rank Tomato leaf miner 53 10 3 0.959 I Whitefly 9 45 12 0.821 II Tomato fruit borer 5 11 50 0.722 III Source: Field survey (2023) Index value was given to each pest according to the priority placed by respondents. Responses recorded showed tomato leaf miner on the 1st rank, then after whitefly followed by tomato fruit borer on 2nd and 3rd rank respectively. Tomato leaf miner has created a severe decrement in the overall yield. Production and marketing range vary greatly due to the worse impact of tomato leaf miner pests. Tomato fruit borer and tomato mosaic virus are two of the most important problems, but a new threat has emerged with the introduction of a new pest, Tuta absoluta (Saidov et al., 2018; Simkhada et al., 2019). 3.5.3 Diseases ranking on the basis of severity in tomato production The severity index showed that among diseases, late blight was the most severe affecting the profitability of tomatoes with an index of 0.919 (Table 5). Tomato mosaic virus diseases and damping off were found second and third most severe diseases with an index value of 0.799 and 0.733, respectively. Similarly, Wilting was found least severe with an index of 0.554. Table 5 Ranking of tomato diseases on the basis of severity in Godawari, Lalitpur Diseases of tomato P1 P2 P3 P4 Index Rank Blight disease 46 11 6 3 0.919 I Tomato mosaic virus 15 23 27 1 0.799 II Damping off 3 28 27 8 0.733 III Wilting 3 3 6 54 0.554 V Source: Field survey (2023) 3.6 Consultation for problem When various problems are encountered during farming 51.4% farmers consult agrovet, followed by 32.9% to friends/neighbours (Table 6) Only 7% and 4 % of them consult with NGO/INGOs and government agencies respectively. Table 6 Different places for the consultation of problems faced by farmers in Godawari, Lalitpur Consultation Frequency Percentage (%) Friends/Neighbours 23 32.9 Government agencies 4 5.7 Agrovet 36 51.4 NGO/INGO 7 10 Source: Field survey (2023) 3.7 Tuta absoluta Tuta absoluta has been a serious issue in tomato cultivation around here. As study had uncovered 80-100 percent of yield loss happened because of this pest and more than $50 million USD (Desneux et al., 2010). 3.7.1 Infestation of Tuta absoluta in the study area This pest started from Kathmandu and spread to Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kavre, and Dhading and to Kaski, Baglung, Parbat, Tanahun and also seen in Myagdi. Studies carried out by the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) in May and June of 2016 identified and confirmed the presence of the pest in 14 locations in the first five districts
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