Seasonal Incidence of Major Sternorrhynchan Insect Pests Infesting Arecanut In South India

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted during 2019-20 to know the seasonal incidence of three species of sternorrhynchan insect pests infesting in arecanut viz., whitefly, Aleurocanthus arecae, armoured scale, Chrysomphalus aonidum and mealybug, Pseudococcus longispinus in two different locations under southern transitional zone. The study revealed that, all the three species infesting arecanut were active throughout the year. Correlation studies of whiteflies showed that, rainfall was significantly positively correlated and maximum temperature and sunshine hours were significantly negatively correlated. For armoured scales, non-significant positive correlation with minimum temperature and for the mealybug resulted that the maximum temperature was significantly positively correlated whereas the relative humidity was significantly negatively correlated.