Effect of climatic and biotic factors on rugose spiralling whitefly (RSW), Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) population in coconut Sankarganesh E.1,*, Roy Kusal1 Department of Entomology, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur-813 210, Bihar, India 1Department of Agricultural Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia - 741 252, West Bengal, India *Corresponding authors' E-mail : sankarganeshe@bausabour.ac.in
Online published on 20 December, 2024. Abstract To gain insights into the factors influencing the RSW in Eastern region of India, a study was undertaken in a coconut plantation. Observations on RSW population density revealed variations ranging from 24 -91 per frond per palm across the different standard meteorological weeks (SMWs). The seasonal population fluctuations showed that RSW infestations were minimal during the wet season and peaked during the summer. Correlation studies among abiotic factors and A. rugioperculatu population showed that maximum temperature (r = 0.52**), minimum temperature (r = 0.32*), and canopy temperature (r = 0.50**) had a significantly positive impact on the whitefly population. The populations of natural enemies were observed to have a negative effect on the build-up of RSW population. Together, biotic and abiotic factors explained 65% (R2) of the total variation in RSW population. Top Keywords Aleurodicus rugioperculatus, Natural enemies and management, Weather factors. Top |