Vol. 1 (2) : March-April 2010 issue
Green Farming Vol. 1 (2) : 167-170 (March-April, 2010) (New Series)
Insect pests attacking cauliflower (Brassica oleraceavar. botrytis L.) : 1. Population dynamics in relation to weather factors
D.P. ABROL1* and ANIL GUPTA2
Division of Entomology, Faculty of Agric., S.K. University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Chatha - 180 009 (J & K)
Designation : 1Professor & Head, 2Scientist (Entomology)
Subject : Entomology
Paper No. :
Total Pages : 4
Received :
Revised accepted :
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Citation :
D.P. ABROL and ANIL GUPTA. 2010. Insect pests attacking cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.) : 1. Population dynamics in relation to weather factors. Green Farming Vol. 1 (2) : 167-170 ; March-April, 2010 (New Series)
ABSTRACT
Investigations were conducted to determine the pest complex of cauliflower and their impact on seed production. The studies revealed that during different growth stages of the plant, five insect pests namely cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae L.); cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae L.); diamond back moth (Plutella maculipennis Curtis); painted bug (Bagrada cruciferarum Kirkaldy) and cabbage semilooper (Trichoplusia ni Hubner.) were observed attacking cauliflower. Of these pests, cabbage butterfly and cabbage aphid were found to be the major pests. Their population peaked on foliage during 50th and 8th standard week, respectively. At siliqua stage, cabbage aphid and painted bug were recorded as the most serious pests. Aphid population coinciding with the initiation of pod setting increased many folds from a minimum of 10 to 412 aphids per 10 cm twig per plant as compared to those recorded on foliage. Similarly, painted bug was also observed causing extensive damage at siliqua stage. Its population ranged from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 33.60 in the 14th standard week. Studies revealed that increase in temperature had a pronounced effect on the aphid and painted bug population.
Key words :
Brassica oleracea, Cauliflower, Insect pests, Population dynamics, Seed production.