Estimation of Population Density and Percentage of Infection with Two Species of Aphids in Wheat Fields in Muthanna Desert For The Season 2020-2021

Abstract

The field study included estimating the population density of two species of aphids belonging to Hemiptera: Aphididae, which infect the wheat crop in the Samawah desert in Muthanna Governorate and included the areas of Al-Salhoubi, Al-Sheikhiya, Al-Rehab, Al-Shawiya, Al-Radmiah and Al-Salman. The study showed the presence of two species, Rhopalosiphium padi L. and Schizaphis graminium.The results of the field survey of the species R. padi showed that the highest infection rate and number density reached 87.53 insects/leaf during March in the Al-Rehab area and 49.88 insects/leaves during the same month in the Al-Shawiya area, respectively, while the infection rate and the number density of the same species decreased to 19.80% during January in Al-Salman and 17.75 insects/leaves during the same month in Al-Shikiya, respectively. However, S. graminium, found at the highest rate of infection at 49.33% in the Al-Salman area during March, and it decreased to 21% during January, and the highest rate of population density of the same species was 39.22 insects/leaf in Al-Shawiya during March, and the lowest rate was 8.45 insects/leaf in the Salhoubiyeh area during January.It was noted that the highest rate of infection with R. padi during January and February reached 42 and 59.24%, respectively, in the Al-Rehab area, and the highest rate of population density was recorded during January and February in the Al-Salman area, which reached 25.37 and 39.12 insects/leaf, respectively.