Management Activity Pre-sowing Common cultural practices: Summer deep ploughing Follow crop rotation with non host crops Field sanitation, rogueing Destroy the alternate host plants Nutrients Apply well decomposed FYM @ 4-5 tons / acre incorporated with Trichoderma 2-3 weeks before sowing Weeds Destroy weeds manually or by deep summer ploughing Sowing Common cultural practices: Do summer ploughing Timely sowing should be done Solarize the field in summer to help reduce the inoculums. Use resistant varieties Select seed from disease free fields Nutrients Seed treatment should be done with Rhizobium culture @ 200 g/ acre. Fertilizers should be applied on soil test basis. Generally, it is recommended to apply 8 to 10 kg N, 16 kg P2O5 , 8 kg K2O, 8 kg sulphur and 6 kg ZnSO4 per acre at the time of sowing as basal application.. Weeds Always use certified and weed free seeds. Timely sowing should be done. Line sowing should be done to facilitate inter-culture operations. Plant population should be maintained to its optimum right from its beginning to minimize the crop weed competition. Adopt suitable crop rotation to minimize dodder and orobanche weeds. Pests, Soil-borne pathogens Deep ploughing of fields during summer to manage juvenile population of nematodes and insect pests. Soil solarization: Cover the beds with polythene sheet of 75 gauge thickness for six weeks before sowing to reduce the soil borne pests. Vegetative Common cultural practices: Avoid excess application of nitrogen Adopt the ecological engineering strategy. Conserve natural enemies Remove and destroy weeds periodically Removal and destruction of infected/infested plants Nutrients Correct micronutrient deficiency if any in standing crop Weeds Keep field boundary & bunds free from weeds. The crop field should be weed free initially for 4-5 weeks by following timely hoeing and weeding. Inter-culture operation/hoeing should be done twice at 20 and 35 days after sowing-using hand hoe to remove all weeds in between the row Cow pea aphid Mechanical control: Use yellow sticky trap Biological control: Conserve the predators such as Syrphid flies, Rove beetle, Green lacewing, Ladybird beetle and parasitoids such as Aphidius spp. Aphelinus sp. Cut worm Biological control: Conserve and augment the predators and parasitoids Thrips Cultural control: Ploughing, harrowing and solarisation can kill pupae in the soil from previously infested crops. Mechanical control: Adult thrips can be monitored by mass trapping with blue sticky traps or water pan traps in field. Biological control: Conserve and augment the various biological control agents, including minute pirate bugs, Orius spp., Big eyed predatory bug, Geocoris sp. and entomopathogenic nematodes, Pod borers Biological control: Conserve and augment biocontrol agents. Fusarium wilt and root rot diseases Cultural control: Use resistant varieties (PL 406, PL 639 and PL 234) Follow crop rotation Weeds control Delayed sowing can reduce disease incidence Use of clean and certified seed. Deep ploughing over summer and removal of infected trash can reduce inoculum levels of Fusarium wilt Mechanical control: Solarisation of soil by covering the soil with transparent polythene sheet (75 gauge) for 6-8 weeks during the summer for effective management. Lentil rust Cultural control: Use resistant varieties (PL 234, PL 406, LL 931, LL 699 and Narendra Masur-1) Ascochyta blight Cultural control: Use of resistant cultivars (LL 699) Use of disease free seed, Follow crop rotation Powdery mildew Cultural control: Use of resistant varieties Mosaic virus Cultural control: Use of disease free seeds Mechanical control: Use yellow sticky traps for vector monitoring Reproductive Nutrients Incorporate crop residues in soil immediately after harvest Aphids Same as vegetative stage Lygus bug Cultural control: Removal of weeds along field borders to prevent buildup of lygus bugs. Biological control: Conserve and augment biocontrol agents Cut worm and Thrips Same as vegetative stage Source: NIPHM; Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage