Arthropod diversity in drumstick Moringa oleifera Lam.
| dc.contributor.advisor | Anitha, N | |
| dc.contributor.author | Niveditha K P. | |
| dc.contributor.author | KAU | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-09-24T10:47:41Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-09-24T10:47:41Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-04-12 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The research work entitled “Arthropod diversity in drumstick Moringa oleifera Lam.” was carried out at the Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani from 2020 to 2022 with the objective to document pests, natural enemies and pollinators associated with drumstick and to assess their seasonal incidence. The documentation was done from Instructional Farm Vellayani, Farmer’s field in Thiruvananthapuram district and College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara. Forty one insect pests and one non-insect pest were documented. Among them, 12 each were from the order Hemipetra and Lepidoptera, 11 from Coleoptera, 4 from Thysanoptera, 2 from Diptera and one non insect pest from the order Acarina. The stink bug (Stenozygum speciosum Dallas), tea mosquito bug (Helopeltis bradyi Waterhouse), ash weevil (Myllocerus curvicornis Fab., Myllocerus anamalainus Marshall), flower thrips (Thrips parvispinus Karny) stem weevil (Alcidodes fabrici Marshall), semilooper (Zurobata vacillans Walker), fruit fly (Diarrhegma modestum Fabricius) and red spider mite (Tetranychus udaipurensis Gupta and Gupta) were reported for the first time as pest of drumstick from Kerala. Studies on biology of Protrigonia zizanialis, S. speciosum and Streblote siva Lefebvre were carried out under laboratory condition. P. zizanialis had an average of 2.9 + 0.23, 9.2 + 0.24 and 7.7+ 0.15 days of egg, larval and pupal period respectively. S. speciosum recorded egg and nymphal period of 6 + 0.25, 39.1 + 0.34 days respectively. S. siva had an average egg period of 6.5 days, larval period of 26 days and pupal period of 13 days. Natural enemies associated with pests of drumstick were also documented. Spiders were prominent predators followed by coccinellid beetles. A total of 27 spiders belonging to 13 genera were recorded from drumstick. Apart from spiders, 19 insect predators were documented, which include Coleoptera (8), Diptera (4), Mantodea (4), Neuroptera (1) and Hemiptera (1). A hymenopteran parasitiods Gryon sp. from the family Scelionidae were found parasitizing on eggs of coreid bug Cletus bipunctatus Herrich-Schaffer and Ooencyrtus sp. from the family Encyrtidae were found parasitizing on pupae of syrphid predator Dideopsis aegrota Fabricius. Two tachinid parasitoids were also found parasitizing on larvae of Eupterote mollifera Walker. For the documentation of pollinators, a study was conducted during the flowering season of drumstick at College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara. In the orchard, five trees were selected randomly and from each tree, five inflorescences (total 25 inflorescences in 5 trees) were selected. Population of insect visitors were recorded by visual observation for a period of 10 days from 0600 to 1900 h. A total of 14 insect pollinators were recorded which include 7 species from Hymenoptera, 4 species from Lepidoptera and 3 species from Diptera. In Hymenoptera, Apidae was the dominant family followed by Vespidae and Halictidae. Among Apidae, Xylocopa sp. was the most abundant pollinator with mean population of 1.36 /inflorescence/day. The seasonal incidence of insect pests and associated predators on the drumstick was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vellayani. Helopeltis antonii Signoret was the most prevalent insect pest of drumstick and was found throughout the year and the highest populations was recorded during April (10.00 plant-1 ), followed by March (9.60 plant-1 ), January (9.40 plant-1 ) and February (9.20 plant-1 ). P. zizanialis, Myllocerus spp. and E. mollifera, were the important defoliators found in drumstick. Highest population of P. zizanialis (12.8 plant-1 ), Myllocerus spp. (10.8 plant-1 ) and E. mollifera (86.40 plant-1 ) was recorded during the month of April, January and May respectively. However, the population of spiders and praying mantis were observed throughout the year. The peak population of spiders (11.4 plant-1 ) and praying mantis (2.8 plant-1 ) was found during the month of March. In the correlation studies, population of sucking pests and defoliators were negatively correlated with rainfall except for E. mollifera and positive correlation was observed with temperature. Spiders and praying mantis population were found significantly negatively correlated with relative humidity and positively correlated with temperature. From the present study 110 species of arthropods belonging to 88 genera, 50 families and 8 orders were found associated with Moringa oleifera. This includes 41 insect pests, one non insect pest, 27 spiders, 19 insect predators, 4 parasitoids, 14 insect pollinators and 4 species of ants. H. antonii was the most prevalent insect pest of drumstick and was found throughout the year. P. zizanialis, Myllocerus spp. and E. mollifera were the important defoliators found in drumstick. Spiders were prominent predators followed by coccinellid beetles. Hymenopterans were the most common and abundant pollinators in drumstick. In the correlation studies, population of sucking pests and defoliators were negatively correlated with rainfall except for E. mollifera and significant positive correlation was observed with temperature. Spiders and praying mantis population were found significant negative correlation with relative humidity and rainfall but positively correlated with temperature. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810214907 | |
| dc.keywords | Agricultural entomology | |
| dc.keywords | Drumstick | |
| dc.keywords | Moringa oleifera Lam | |
| dc.language.iso | English | |
| dc.pages | 102p. | |
| dc.publisher | Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture,Vellayani | |
| dc.sub | Agricultural Entomology | |
| dc.theme | The research work entitled “Arthropod diversity in drumstick Moringa oleifera Lam.” was carried out at the Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani from 2020 to 2022 with the objective to document pests, natural enemies and pollinators associated with drumstick and to assess their seasonal incidence. The documentation was done from Instructional Farm Vellayani, Farmer’s field in Thiruvananthapuram district and College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara. | |
| dc.these.type | M.Sc | |
| dc.title | Arthropod diversity in drumstick Moringa oleifera Lam. | |
| dc.type | Thesis |