1.

INTRODUCTION
Indian agriculture has been passing through a very turbulent phase. The intensive
chemical agriculture that followed after the successful green revolution caused heavy
pollution of our soil, food, water and air. Though the life expectancy has improved, the
quality of life has substantially been deteriorated. The over dependence on external input has
ruined the rural economy.
Mineral fertilizers especially, nitrogenous fertilizers are essential external inputs in
crop cultivation to increase yields. But incremental doses of fertilizers though enhance yield,
often induces susceptibility to insect pests, with the exception of potassic fertilizers. Also,
increased costs for nitrogen based fertilizers, ammonia volatilization with surface application
of urea and their subsequent environmental consequences in the form of disruption of
nitrogen cycle by the unused nitrogen are limitations (Crutzen., 2007).
In addition excessive use of nitrogen leads to higher pest incidence, damage to the
environment and low profit from farming (Jayaraj and Ignacimuthu., 2005). The management
of pests using chemical insecticides will leads to increase in the cost of cultivation,
environmental pollution and the development of insecticide resistant pest strains and threat to
natural enemies and other non-target organisms. Besides, the continuous use of pesticides has
resulted in resurgence of pesticide resistant insect populations and elevation of secondary
pests to a status of primary importance (Dhaliwal and Arora., 2001) and biomagnification of
pesticide residues in food and feed. So alternative sources of nutrients through application of
organics and management of insect pests using non chemical methods is becoming more
acceptable.
Organic farming is a form of agriculture in which synthetic fertilizers, insecticides
and pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock feed additives and genetically modified
organism are avoided. According to International Federation of Organic Agriculture
Movement, “Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils,
ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to
local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture
combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote
fair relationships and a good quality of life”. Organic farming has been a state policy in
Karnataka with an allocation of 100 crores in 2010-2011 budget.
Nutrition of crop plants influences its resistance or susceptibility to infesting
herbivore. Each plant species has a unique defense mechanism involving various
morphological and biochemical traits which have deep effect on the reproduction and
survival of herbivorers on a plant species. The mechanisms of plant defense to insect damage
include, antixenosis or non-preference, antibiosis and tolerance (Painter.,1951). Source,
quantity and timing of nutrient application either enhance or reduce the biophysical and
biochemical factors of induced resistance in crop plants against insect pests.
Induced resistance (IR) is a phenomenon in which feeding by insect herbivores causes
changes in the plant that make the plant more resistant to herbivore attack ( Karban.,1997;
Hammerscmidt.,1995). It involves the production of chemicals or physical structurers, or the
removal of nutrients essential to the herbivore, in response to attack (Wold and
Marquis.,1997).
Induced defense may take several forms like, nutrient removal, cell lignification,
controlled chemical biosynthesis and uncontrolled chemical biosynthesis, in which very large
quantities of defensive chemicals are produced by living cells close to the site of injury.
During this response, sugars and starches are rapidly converted into indigestible or toxic
compounds like phenols, terpenes etc (Dhaliwal and Singh., 2005).
Insect resistance in crop plant is also attributed to various biophysical factors like
trichome density, surface waxes, thickening of cell walls and cuticle, anatomical
modifications, colour, shape and size (Norris and Kogen., 1980; David and Easwaramoorthy.,
1988; Peter et al., 1995) and biochemical factors like major nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous
and potassium), secondary metabolites (phenols, amino acids, sugars, alkaloids) etc. But the
expression of biophysical or biochemical factors is influenced by various factors including
the nutrients supplied to plants.
With the increasing interest in organic farming, alternate sources of nutrients
especially organic manures like compost, vermicompost, farm yard manure biofertilizers etc
are being popularized. Hence, it is imperative to investigate the influence of such bio-rational
nutrient management practices on insect resistant traits in crop plants, with an aim to enhance
biophysical and biochemical factors of resistance in crop plants.
Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merril], a grain legume, is one of the important oilseed
crops of Karnataka, is considered as a wonder crop due to its dual qualities viz., high protein
content (40-43%) and oil content (20%)., besides minerals and vitamins. Soybean, popularly
known as golden bean, in world it occupies 91.4 million ha of area with 204 million tonnes of
annual production and 2233 Kg per ha of productivity (Anonymous., 2008). In India it is
grown over an acarage of 8.87 million hectare with 9.46 million tons of annual production
and 1069 kg per ha productivity (Anonymous., 2008). With 2.36 lakh tonnes of production
and 1025 kg per ha productivity it occupies 2.3 lakh ha of area in Karnataka (Anonymous.,
2009).
But the productivity of this crop is low in India due to biotic and abiotic factors.
Among the biotic factors, the ravages caused by insect pests are of paramount importance in
reducing the yield. The luxuriant crop growth, soft and succulent foliage attracts many insects
and provides unlimited source of food, space and shelter. The defoliators Spodoptera litura
(Fab.), Thysanoplusia orichalcea (Fab), feeds on foliage, flower and pods causing significant
yield loss (Singh and Singh, 1990).
The attack by major defoliating pests and pod borers Cydia ptychora Meyrick., are
more severe in inorganically cultivated soybean crop compared to organically grown soybean
which interfere with its profitable yield causing 50 percent reduction in yield.
Knowledge on the sources and mechanism of induced resistance in soybean crop
nourished with organic nutrients, against major defoliator and pod borer pests is lacking and
not much information is available on the morphological and biochemical basis of resistance.
Exploration for source of resistance and mechanism of resistance in them forms a basic
requirement for developing a potential resistant cultivation.
Realising the lacunae existing in our understanding of induced resistance against
major insect pests of soybean nourished with organics, the present investigation was
undertaken with following objectives.

1. To assess the activity of major pests in soybean nourished with inorganic, organic
and integrated sources of nutrition.

2. To study the crop phenology in relation to type of nourishment that has impact on
insect pest resistance.

3. To investigate the biochemical basis of induced resistance to soybean pests.