Influence of Meteorological Variables on the Population Dynamics of Insect Pests of Pea in North-Western India

Abstract

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is a short-duration legume crop valued for its protein-rich seeds, fodder use and contribution to soil fertility through nitrogen fixation. The present study examined the population dynamics of major insect pests of pea and their association with selected meteorological variables during the rabi season of 2024–25 at Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, India. The experiment was laid out in a randomised block design with thirteen treatments and three replications. Weekly observations were recorded from the first appearance of pests until harvest on five randomly selected plants from each plot. Aphids were assessed on a 10 cm apical twig per plant, leaf miner and thrips populations were recorded from three canopy leaves per plant, and pod borer incidence was determined by counting larvae per plant. The major insect pests observed were aphid, leaf miner, thrips and pod borer. Aphid infestation began during the 49th Standard Meteorological Week (SMW) and peaked during the 4th SMW with 35.00 aphids per 10 cm apical twig. Leaf miner first appeared during the 48th SMW and reached 17.23 larvae per plant during the 4th SMW. Thrips incidence started during the 48th SMW and peaked at 6.85 thrips per plant during the 7th SMW, whereas pod borer infestation began during the 4th SMW and reached 1.90 larvae per plant during the 7th SMW. Aphid, leaf miner and thrips populations showed significant negative associations with maximum temperature, minimum temperature and relative humidity. Pod borer showed non-significant negative associations with these variables, and rainfall had a non-significant effect on all pests. Multiple regression analysis showed that weather parameters explained 66.5%, 59.6%, 61.2% and 46.2% of variation in aphid, leaf miner, thrips and pod borer populations, respectively.