Studies on Seasonal Abundance of Cotton Pink Bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) using Sex Pheromone Delta Traps and Influence of Weather Parameters on Trap Catches

摘要

Among a dozen pests which are mainly responsible for most of the losses in seed cotton yield, the bollworms viz., spotted bollworm, American bollworm and pink bollworm are the most important because they damage mainly the reproductive parts of cottonplant. Among them pink bollworm (PBW) Pencinophora gossypiella (Saunders) (Lepidoptera : Gelechiidae), is considered as a mojor pest in many parts of the world including India. It is reported to cause severe boll damage (Korat, 1991; Sangareddy and Patil 1977) in northern Karnataka. Monitoring of pests by pheromone traps gives necessary information for need based application of pesticides. Therefore, an attempt was made to know the seasonal activity of this pest using sex pheromone delta traps.