Incidence and Severity of Pod Sucking Bugs on Pigeon Pea in Telangana, India

Abstract

A roving survey was conducted in two major pigeon pea growing districts of Telangana, namely Warangal and Vikarabad, at the flowering and pod formation stages of the crop during the 2024 Kharif season. In Telangana, four species of pod sucking bugs, viz., Clavigralla gibbosa, Riptortus pedestris, Nezara viridula and Anoplocnemis spp, were diagnosed for infesting pigeon pea crop at all the surveyed locations. The maximum incidence of pod sucking bugs was recorded at the pod formation to maturation stage of the crop. The maximum incidence of Clavigralla gibbosa was recorded during pod formation stage and ranged from 0.87 to 2.25 egg masses, 5.97 to 7.35 nymphs and 4.2 to 5.45 adults per plant, and also maximum incidence of Riptortus pedestris was recorded during pod formation stage and ranged from 0.20 to 0.51 egg masses, 0.42 to 1.90 nymphs and 0.98 to 2.24 adults per plant, The maximum incidence of Nezara viridula and Anoplocnemis spp were recorded during pod formation stage and ranged from 0.04 to 0.07 egg masses, 0.13 to 0.16 nymphs and 0.49 to 0.50 adults per plant and 0.01 to 0.04 adults per plant, respectively. In surveyed districts, the percentage of pod damage was recorded as highest in Gavicherla village (32.4%), followed by Gandhinagar (30.1%), and the lowest rate of pod damage was recorded in Kodangal (7.4%), followed by Venkatapur (8.9%). In all the surveyed locations across both districts, Clavigralla gibbosa is found to be highly dominant with 78-80 per cent, followed by Riptortus pedestris, Nezara viridula, and Anoplocnemis spp. The grain yield loss  across all surveyed areas is attributed to insufficient knowledge regarding the occurrence and impact of pod sucking bugs, a lack of understanding of suitable insecticides for pod bug control, the cultivation of local varieties that are vulnerable, the implementation of inadequate management techniques, and prevalent weed issues in the fields.