Effect of Abiotic Factors on Population Fluctuation of Gram Pod Borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) in Chickpea

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted to determine the population fluctuation of Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) larval population in relation to abiotic factors on chickpea for two seasons during (Rabi, 2021-22) at Crop Research Centre (CRC), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut. The present study revealed that the Gram pod borer larval population were first observed from 50th and 51th standard meteorological week till harvesting the crop i.e. 15th standard meteorological week during Rabi, 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively. The highest peak larval population (4.20 and 3.80 larvae per plant) was observed in 12th and 11th standard meteorological week during Rabi, 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively. The data recorded were subjected to correlation with various meteorological parameters on population fluctuation of H. armigera on chickpea. The correlation analysis showed that both minimum and maximum temperature were positively correlated during both years. Relative humidity of both morning and evening showed negative correlation with population of gram pod borer. However, the larval population showed non-significant negative correlation with rainfall both seasons during Rabi, 2021-22 and 2022-23. The information generated in present investigation may be used for the insect pest prediction and sustainable management strategies of H. armigera (Hubner) in chickpea crop.