Mustard, Brassica juncea (L.) is one of the important oilseed crops of India. The major constraints affecting yield in mustard are insect pests causing injury to different parts right from seedling to maturity stage of this crop. The growers of mustard face lot of problems from insect pests, particularly mustard sawfly, aphid, painted bug, thrips and whitefly. Control of insect pests has relied heavily on chemical insecticides, which are often overused or misused. Mustard and its pests present a goodcase for the use of weather parameters and beneficial species to reduce the level of insecticide applied to the plants. The beneficial species, such as parasites and predators are used to control insect pests that established a solid foundation for environmentally safe system for mustard growers. In India, about 50 insects have been reported on this crop at different stages of growth. Among these insects, mustard aphid (Lipaphis erysimi) is the key pest, while saw fly (Athalia proxima), and painted bug(Bagrada cruciferarum) also cause yield losses. Yield losses due to aphid may be up to 97 per cent and sawfly and painted bug up to 15 and 30 per cent, respectively (Arvind Kumar et al., 2010). However, with increase in cropping intensity and the changing cropping patterns under different agroclimatic conditions, the insect pests and diseases complex of this crop has also changed a great deal.
展开▼
