Population Dynamics of the Bean Spider Mite, Tetranychus ludeni Zacher (Acari:Tetranychidae) under Climatic Conditions in Cowpea Field
Surendra Prasad *
Department of Entomology, Post Graduate College of Agriculture, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar (848125), India.
Singampalli Prasanthi
Department of Entomology, Post Graduate College of Agriculture, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar (848125), India.
M. K. Singh
Department of Entomology, Post Graduate College of Agriculture, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar (848125), India.
Manoj Kumar
Department of Entomology, Post Graduate College of Agriculture, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar (848125), India.
S. N. Singh
Department of Plant Pathology, Sugarcane Research Institute, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar (848125), India.
Neeraj
Department of Horticulture, Post Graduate College of Agriculture, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar (848125), India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Field trial was conducted in the summer season on cowpea crop during 2024 for population dynamic of the bean spider mite, Tetranychus ludeni Zacher at Hi-tech Horticulture, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samstipur, Bihar. An attempt was made to correlate the effect of weather factors on the incidence and population dynamics of the bean spider mite on cowpea. The population dynamics of the bean spider mite, Tetranychus ludeni Zacher, had a significant negative impact on cowpea production. Observations of the mite population were recorded at weekly interval. The data revealed that the mite population were commenced first on 1st week of April, 2024 (14th SMW) 0.80 mite leaf-1 to July, 2024 (28th SMW) and reached its peak of 44.43 mites leaf-1 on 20th SMW in the month of May, 2024. The mite population exhibited a positive significant correlation with the average temperature, while showing a negative and non-significant association with the average relative humidity and total rainfall. The regression equation for the data, with a population(Y) as the dependent variable and weather factors as the independent variables, was as follows a determined coefficient of determination (R2). Based on the calculation, the coefficient value (R2) derived as 0.654 which suggested that 65% of the fluctuations in the bean spider mite population were attributed to the impact of abiotic factors.
Keywords: Population dynamics, Tetranychus ludeni, cowpea, correlation