Influence of meteorological factors on population dynamics of pod fly, Melanagromyza obtusa Malloch (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in pigeonpea under agro-climatic conditions of Manipur

摘要

Investigations were carried out during 2002/03-2003/04 in Manipur, India, on the impact of various meteorological factors (temperature, relative humidity, rain, sunshine and wind speed) on the population build up of pigeonpea pod fly, M. obtusa. The damage commenced in the pod filling stage (1.23 and 2.00%) in the third week of January in both years. The maximum infestation of the pest (15.56%) was recorded during the third week of February in the first year, whereas it was observed a week earlier, during the second week of February as 13.72% in the second year. Correlation studies showed that the infestation of the pest on the crop did not seem to be influenced significantly by any of the environmental factors, except for relative humidity, which exerted significant negative effect with the pest infestation in both the years.