Studies on comparative biology of groundnut pod bug, Elasmolomus sordidus (Fabricius) (Hemiptera : Lygaeidae) reared on groundnut, sesamum, soybean and sunflower.

摘要

Studies were carried out at the Department of Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra (GKVK), Bangalore to understand the biology of Elasmolomus sordidus on different crops such as groundnut, sesamum, soybean and sunflower. Groundnut pod bug, Elasmolomus sordidus (F.) is a serious post-harvest pest of groundnut. The pod bug due to its feeding, in addition to causing weight loss in affected pods, also affects the quality parameters of groundnut such as oil content, flavour and seed viability. Adult E. sordidus reared on groundnut, sunflower and sesamum laid on an average 194.76+or-55.39, 182.56+or-75.08 and 223+or-57.75 eggs, respectively. The total lifecycle of the bug on groundnut, sunflower and sesamum was 54.71+or-8.34, 54.47+or-5.98 and 53.20+or-6.92 days, respectively. From the above investigation, it is clear that the pod bug reared on sesamum showed the shortest post-embryonic development, highest fecundity and lowest longevity.