Studies on seasonal incidence of insect-pests and pollinators in guava and eco-friendly management of fruit fly
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Date
2016-09
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Department of Entomology, BAU, Sabour
Abstract
The Guava (Psidium guajava) belongs to the family of Myrtaceae. It is a very rich source of vitamin C (Mahmood, 1994). Guava, the “poor man’s fruit” or “apple of the tropics” was a popular tree fruit of the tropical and subtropical climates. About 80 species of insects have been recorded on guava trees, affecting yield and quality of fruits. Fruit flies, castor capsule borer, mealy bug, whiteflies and coccids (scale insects and mealy bugs) are considered as major pest of guava, while aphids, thrips, cockchafers, stem borers and fruit borers, etc., are the minor pests (NHM, 2012). The infestation of fruit fly is a major limiting factor in production of guava. Apart from these pollinators are also playing an important role in the production of guava. Considering the above background information in view, the present experiment was undertaken on “Studies on seasonal incidence of insect-pest and pollinators in guava and eco-friendly management of fruit fly” with the objectives i. To study the seasonal infestation of insect-pests of guava, ii. To record the diversity and activity of pollinators in guava and iii. To evaluate different traps for fruit fly management.
The incidence of fruit flies was recorded as high as from second week of June to August and the peak population was recorded at 32nd standard week (August). Among different species of Bactrocera, the highest population was recorded with B. dorsalis followed by B. zonata and B. correcta. The incidence of mealy bug was observed as high as from second fortnight of January to second fortnight of February, while castor capsule borer peak incidence was recorded at 49th standard week (December). Regarding diversity of pollinators are concerned, a total of four species of Apis were observed in the field pollinating the guava flower namely Little bee, Apis florea; Rock bee, A. dorsata, Italian bee, A. mellifera, Indian bee, A. cerena indica. In addition to, coccinellid and hover fly were also observed in the flowers of guava. A. mellifera was recorded as the most abundant pollinator of guava flowers based on the number of visit observed. The maximum pollinators were visited the guava flowers during 0700 hr followed by 1000 hr. Three traps viz: Sabour trap, Water trap and Nomate trap along with untreated control were taken for the management of fruit flies. Among the traps, Sabour trap performed well as compared to other traps based reduction of fruit damage both wt. and no. basis and simultaneously obtained highest yield as compared to others. The highest cost-benefit ratio was obtained with Sabour trap (1:18.71) followed by water trap (1:8.97).
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