Abstract
The seasonal incidence of apple leaf miner (Lyonetia clerkella [L., 1758], Lepidoptera, Lyonetiidae) was investigated in four districts of Kashmir valley from March 2015 to April 2016. The prevalence of infestation was found higher in Srinagar (70.6 %) and Bandipora (65.3 %) as compared to Pulwama (9.3 %) and Baramulla (6.6 %). Infestation intensity was found at its peak during the month of May (2015) in all the four districts. In Srinagar, the percent infestation intensity during May (2015) was found to be 58.69 % (± 11.46 SD), while as in Bandipora, Pulwama and Baramulla, it was found as 55.71 % (± 12.59 SD), 6.04 % (± 1.97 SD) and 4.27 % (± 1.12 SD) respectively. Infestation of intensity was observed to decline linearly from the first week of June (2015) and disappeared completely with the beginning of winter season. Further, seven generations of L. clerkella were found under laboratory conditions. The1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th generations completed in 39, 40, 37, 39, 45 and 48 days respectively. However, final generation (7th) was found relatively longer in duration, extended from the 4th week of September (2015) till April of the following year (2016) for about 204 days. In general, the life cycle of L. clerkella is similar to those described for other leaf miner species.
Highlights
Kashmir is famous for the deliciousness of its temperate fruits in every part of India (Rather & Buhroo, 2015)
Infestation intensity for each district was thereafter calculated by the following formula: In order to determine the number of generations L. clerkella produces under laboratory conditions, methodology adopted by Rather and Buhroo (2015) was followed
One hundred and six (70.6 %) out of 150 host trees in Srinagar were found infested with L. clerkella and 98 (65.3 %) trees were found infested in Bandipora (Fig. 5)
Summary
Kashmir is famous for the deliciousness of its temperate fruits in every part of India (Rather & Buhroo, 2015). A wide variety of insect pests occur on apple trees from the onset of foliage till the end of autumn period. Among these pests, apple leaf miner (Lyonetia clerkella (L., 1758) is regarded as one of the most common, widespread and destructive in many parts of the valley (Ahmed & Bhat1987; Rather & Buhroo, 2015). Leaf epidermis is not damaged during the mesophyll devouring and larvae occupy mines till the phase of their life cycle. Mines excavated by the larvae of L. clerkella were found to be one of the major causes that reduce the photosynthetic capacity of leaves and cause their premature abscission (Spencer, 1973; Parrella, 1987; Parrella & Jones, 1987). The larval tunneling has been reported to provide a way for the pathogens to enter into the tissues of the plants (Zitter & Tsai, 1977) and decline the annual yield of fruits (Wolfenbarger, 1954; Ledieu & Heyler, 1985; Minkenberg & Van Lenteren, 1986)
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