Seasonal incidence and population dynamics of important insect pests infesting gambhar Gmelina arborea Roxb. at coastal agro ecosystem of Odisha, India

Abstract

Gmelina arborea Roxb (Gambhar) is a rapidly growing tree, with its drought and shade tolerance and excellent wood properties. The present study revealed that Calopepla leayana is the major defoliator of this species recorded at Bhubaneswar during the study period (2017-18). Out of the total 22 species recoded 10 species were foliage feeders(47.61%),8 species were sap feeders (38.09%), one species each from shoot borer (4.76%) and bark feeder, and 2 species were recorded as root and bark feeders (9.52%).Gambhar defoliator larval population in leaves was first noticed during June 2018 with peak population recorded during 1st fortnight of September 2017(9.30/leaf) after which a downward trend was recorded up to November 1st fortnight 2017.Population of Gambhar shoot weevil was recorded throughout the experimental period with highest population (6.20/branch) recorded during 2nd fortnight of January 2017. The lowest population was recorded during 2nd fortnight of June 2018.