*9.1.2 IPM approaches*

Routine cultural activities like as plucking rounds, adjusting pruning cycles, modifying shade trees, and timely weed treatment can all be used as effective pest control measures in tea culture. Many foliar pests, such as tea mosquito bugs, aphids, jassids, scales, and leaf folding caterpillars like flush worms and leaf rollers, are removed or reduced by this technique. On the broken ends (stalks) of plucked shoots, tea mosquito bugs lay their eggs. The more eggs, larvae, and juvenile stages of pests are removed from the bushes, the shorter the plucking rounds must be. Intensive stalk removal during plucking will help to limit the prevalence of this insect. The intensity of plucking, on the other hand, is critical; the higher the intensity, the greater the pest population reduction. During a light pruning operation, most foliar pests such as the tea mosquito bug, flushworm, aphid, jassid, thrips, red Spider Mite (RSM), scarlet mite and purple mite are eradicated. The Light Skiff assists in the removal of unproductive shoots and

*Helopeltis* and thrips eggs *Helopeltis* is more likely to invade densely shaded regions Because the tea mosquito bug is a negatively phototropic pest, overgrown plantations should be thinned to provide for adequate sunshine and aeration. The insect is unable to endure sunshine, resulting in a reduction in the infestation. Several caterpillar pests have alternate hosts in shade trees such as *Indigofera* and *Albizzia*. As a result, the prescription for shade control will aid in the prevention of thrips, mites, and *Helopeltis* infestations. Sanitation in the field: Field cleanliness is important in the control of a variety of pests. Weeds provide ideal hiding places for *Helopeltis* and RSM, and they also act as alternate hosts for *Helopeltis* and RSM. RSM is controlled by weed-free agriculture and prohibits cattle, goats, and other animals from straying on RSM-infested fields. A trap crop also changes the habitat of an agro-ecosystem, which can be classified as an ecological engineering strategy. Marigold, on the other hand, is an attractive plant that may be used as a red spider mite trap crop in tea Removal by hand: Lepidopteran caterpillar collection and annihilation is cost-effective and useful for both small and large plantations [80]. Manual removal of larvae and pupae can greatly reduce the population of foliage-feeding caterpillars such as the looper caterpillar, faggot worms, flush worms and leaf roller. Solarization of the soil and heat treatment: The medium in which tea plants are grown in soil. Many insects, such as eelworms, cockchafer grubs, termites, and root mealy bugs, dwell or hibernate under or near the soil surface in ideal temperature and humidity conditions. In tea plantations, a light trap is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly monitoring method for lepidopteran pests The mechanical control method for destroying termitaria appears to be a viable termite management solution [80]. In Bangladesh, the elimination of isolated termitaria is a common practice in tea plantations. In tea, *Oligota flaviceps* have been recognised as a predator of the red spider mite. The two most prevalent predators of *Acaphylla theae and Calacarus carinatus are Amblyseius herbicolus and Euseius ovalis. Anthocorids of the genera Anthocoris and Orius,* as well as predatory thrips such as *Aelothrips intermedius and Mymarothrips garuda,* are natural thrips adversaries*. C. carnea* has recently been recognised as a thrips *and Helopeltis predator*. *Caloptilia theivora*, a leaf roller, is highly parasitized by the eulophid *Sympiesis dolichogaster*. The looper caterpillar, *Buzura suppressaria*, is parasitized by *Apanteles fabiae* and *Apantelesta probanae*. *Erythmelu shelopeltidis*, an egg parasitoid, was found to be effective against the tea mosquito bug, *Helopeltis theivora* (The percentage parasitism in the field ranged from 52 to 83%, and this is the first time this species has been found attacking *H. theivora*. *B. thuringiensis* bacterial pesticides have been successfully employed to combat looper caterpillars, cutworms, flushworms, and other lepidopterous pests [81]. *Verticillium lecani*, *Paecilomyces fumosoroseus*, and *Hirsutella thompsonii*, three entomopathogenic fungi, were tested and proved to be efficient against pink, purple, and red spider mites. The possible entomopathogenic fungi for the management of *Helopeltis* in tea were discovered to be *Cladosporium sp*., *Aspergillus niger* and *Aspergillus flavus*. The most common entomopathogenic fungus, *Metarhizium anisopliae*, reduced the population of red spider mites, thrips, and live wood termites in tea *Azadirachtin*, an oxygenated triterpenoid derived from the seed kernel of the neem tree *A. indica*, is presently being tested against a variety of tea pests, including *Helopeltis*, Red spider mites, flushworm, and others. Plants suffering from root-knot nematodes, *Meloidogyne brevicauda*, were found to benefit from the application of neemcake at a rate of 2 kg/bush Furthermore, extracts from Mahogany, *Karanja*, *Datura*, Tobacco, *Bishkatali*, *Katamehedi*, *Lantana*, *Xanthium* and *Clerodendrum* may be useful against significant tea pests such as tea mosquito bugs and red spider mites. Neem and *Mahogani* cake drastically reduced the nematode population in the soil [82].
