Abstract
Walnut industry, one of the economically important industries of Kashmir is under multitude of stresses like changing weather patterns, international competition, insect pest damage and diseases. Pest damage by various insect species is by for the main cause of walnut damage, thus limiting its production. In this backdrop, the aim of the present study was to check the insect pest diversity and its nature and extent of damage to walnuts. Sampling was done fortnightly in three districts of Central Kashmir viz., Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal from June 2014 to November 2015. Quantitative estimation of individual species was made by using various diversity indices and each site varied in species diversity, richness and evenness. A total of nine sites were selected from three different districts and the insects collected belonged to 3 orders, 7 families and 10 species. Order Hemiptera was highly damaging in comparison to Coleoptera and Lepidoptera while in Hemiptera, maximum damage was done by Chromaphis juglandicola (Kaltenbach, 1843) and the least by Apodiphus pilipes (Horvath,1889). The study provides a baseline data for assessing the biodiversity pattern and damaging potential of walnut pests so as to develop holistic integrated pest management programme.
Highlights
Regarded as heaven on earth, the state of Jammu & Kashmir is called the biomass state of India due to its immense biodiversity, rich gene pool and priceless resources
The results indicate rich pest diversity on walnut trees at different study sites with an overall of 10 insect species, belonging to 3 orders and 7 families
A total of nine sites were selected from three different districts and the insects pests collected belonged to 3 orders 7 families and 10 species
Summary
Regarded as heaven on earth, the state of Jammu & Kashmir is called the biomass state of India due to its immense biodiversity, rich gene pool and priceless resources. Common Walnut (Juglans regia L.), one of the prime industries among various other commercial sectors of the valley, is cultivated in districts like Poonch, Pulwama, Anantnag, Ganderbal, Kulgam, Budgam, Kupwara, Baramulla and Srinagar. Among these districts, Shopian was on the forefront in walnut production in the past. Most of the insect pests reported on walnuts are leaf defoliators, feeding on the leaves, twigs and branches leading to nut drop (Abbas et al, 2015). Certain dipteran flies feed inside the walnut husk, causing blackening of shells and thereby reducing its market value (Boyce, 1934). The data will in turn enable us to develop planned integrated pest management strategy for walnut pests
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