Some ecological studies on sugar beet crop insects in Kafr El-Sheikh and Nubaria regions

Abstract

The present studies were conducted at the experimental farms in Agricultural Research Stations of Kafr El-Sheikh and Nubaria regions during two seasons (2019/2020 and 2020/2021) to survey the insect pests and predators that inhibiting sugar beet crop, and to study the seasonal abundance of main insect pests in such crop, and to evaluate the impact of some climatic factors in both regions on the seasonal abundance of some serious insects. Survey studies revealed that sugar beet plants attacked by 45 insect species: 15 of them were accidently visitors. In addition, ten predator species were recorded during the period extended from October until April in both regions during the two seasons. Spodoptera littoralis larvae gave the highest monthly average in December, while Pegomyia mixta larvae recorded the highest monthly average numbers in February and March in Kafr El-Sheikh and Nubaria regions in both seasons. On the other hand, the highest monthly average numbers of Cassida vittata adults were recorded in April in Kafr El-Sheikh region but in February-March in Nubaria region, during both seasons. Scrobipalpa ocellatella appeared with the highest monthly average only in April of both seasons in Kafr El-Sheikh. Whereas, itdoesn’t exist in Nubaria region. Results revealed that effects of the three weather factors (temperature, relative humidity and wind speed) were non-significant during the two seasons in both regions. I could be concluded that sugar beet plants that cultivated Nubaria region received less numbers of insect species than that cultivated in Kafr El-Sheikh region, and given that the sugar beet crop is considered a reclamation crop for new lands, so it must be reassurance in its cultivation due to the lack of insect infestation as well.