Studies on little leaf of brinjal and morphotaxonomy of the leafhopper species associated from Bengal

Abstract

Little Leaf of Brinjal (LLB) is one of the major potential threats of brinjal cultivation in West Bengal as well as in India. The present study, carried out at Kalyani, West Bengal, revealed the occurrence of the two insect vectors of LLB viz. Hishimonus phycitis (Distant) and Amrasca biguttula (Ishida) in the brinjal ecosystem from this region. This is the first report of H. phycitis in brinjal ecosystem from West Bengal. The details of morphotaxonomical studies of these two species of leafhoppers were carried out and compared with recently available literature. Disease incidence percentage of LLB ranged between 12-14% in the experimental field and 7-9 % in the farmers’ field during the period of the study. Among the two vectors, A. biguttula was dominantly prevalent in brinjal throughout the growth stages. The transmission status of the two vectors in these areas can be assessed for the better and eco-friendly management of the disease.