Seasonal Incidence of Pod Borer Complex of Pigeonpea in Relation to Weather Parameters at Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

The present field investigation was conducted to study the seasonal incidence of pod borer complex of Pigeonpea during Kharif 2025 at the Research Farm of Entomology Department, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai College of Agriculture, Sehore (Madhya Pradesh). Pigeonpea, Cajanus cajan (L.), is the second most important pulse crop after chickpea. India is the world's largest producer of Pigeonpea. The study revealed that pigeonpea was infested by four major pod borers, i.e. gram pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera; leaf webber, Grapholita critica; plume moth, Exelastis atomosa and spotted pod borer, Maruca vitrata. The pests first appeared between the 36th and 41st standard meteorological week and persisted up to the 2nd and 3rd standard meteorological week of the following year attaining peak populations during the 45th - 47th standard meteorological week during the crop period. Correlation studies showed that maximum temperature had non-significant negative correlations (r= -0.328, and -0.030, respectively). Correlation studies revealed that minimum temperature, relative humidity and rainfall had negative and non-significant correlations (r= -0.436, -0.422, -0.413; -0.059, -0.031, -0.263 and -0.192, -0.172, -0.341, respectively) with Gram pod borer, plume moth and spotted pod borer, while maximum temperature showed positive, non-significant associations with leaf webber and plume moth (r= 0.394 and 0.131, respectively). The weak and statistically non-significant correlations with temperature, relative humidity and rainfall indicate that these weather parameters alone did not have a significant influence on pest larval population dynamics during the study period.