Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 12 No. sp1 (2025): Recent Advances in Agriculture by Young Minds - II

The effect of abiotic factors on incidence of major insect pests in cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.]

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.9246
Submitted
2 May 2025
Published
25-09-2025

Abstract

Understanding the impact of abiotic factors on pest incidence in cowpea is crucial for developing effective pest management strategies. By identifying how environmental conditions influence pest populations, farmers can better anticipate outbreaks and implement timely interventions. To analyze the seasonal incidence of major insect pests on cowpea, a simple correlation analysis was conducted between pest populations and abiotic factors, including minimum and maximum temperatures, morning and evening relative humidity, rainfall and wind speed. Field experiments were conducted at the Rajasthan Agricultural Research Institute (RARI), Durgapura, Jaipur (Rajasthan),
during two consecutive seasons i.e., Kharif 2022 and 2023. During Kharif 2022, jassids and whiteflies exhibit a positive correlation with maximum temperature (r = 0.668 and 0.670, respectively) and negative correlations with relative humidity, while Maruca vitrata was also positively correlated with temperature (r = 0.673). In 2023, similar trends were observed, with significant negative correlations between jassids, whiteflies and M. vitrata populations and relative humidity, while M. vitrata again showed a positive correlation with temperature (r = 0.669). The study concludes that temperature positively influences the population buildup of jassids, whiteflies and M. vitrata, while
relative humidity has a suppressive effect. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating weather-based forecasting in pest management strategies for cowpea.

References

  1. 1. Anusha CH, Balikai RA. Avoidable loss estimation due to pod borers in C-152 and DC-15 varieties of cowpea. J Exp Zool India. 2015;18(1):349-53.
  2. 2. Yadav LS, Yadav PR. Pest complex of cowpea (Vigna sinensis Savi) in Haryana. Bull Ent. 1982;24:57-58. https://doi.org/10.5555/19830503707
  3. 3. Arunteja K, Tayde AR. Efficacy of selected insecticides and biopesticides against spotted pod borer (Maruca vitrata (Geyer)) on green gram (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek). Int J Plant Soil Sci. 2022;34(22):1230-34.
  4. 4. Choudhary S, Singh P, Mahore P, Makwana M, Mahor D. Study on population dynamics of insect pests of cowpea in Gird region of Madhya Pradesh, India. Curr J Appl Sci Technol. 2023;42(46):1-6.
  5. 5. Sharma P, Rana BS, Mordia A, Kumawat K. Seasonal incidence of sucking insect pest of cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (Linn) Walpers in relation to abiotic factors. J Entomol Zool Stud. 2019;7(3):1242-44.
  6. 6. Choudhary S, Khinchi SK, Kumawat KC. Seasonal abundance of major sucking insect pest of cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (Linn.) Walp. and their natural enemies. Pharma Innov J. 2021;10(10):685-88.
  7. 7. Gauns KH, Tambe AB, Gaikwad SM, Gade RS. Seasonal abundance of insect pests against forage cowpea. Trends Biosci. 2014;7(12):1200-204.
  8. 8. Kumar D, Shukla A, Bondre CM. Succession and incidence of insect pest of green gram (Vigna radiata L. Wilzek) during summer season. Adv Life Sci. 2016;5(5):1782-84.
  9. 9. Chahal SK, Dhaliwal LK, Kaur L. Effect of weather parameters on whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) population in Kharif moong. J Res Punjab Agric Univ. 2010;47(1/2):30-33. https://doi.org/10.5555/20113213225
  10. 10. Tamang S, Venkatarao P, Chaterjee M, Chakraborty G. Population dynamics of major insect pests of mungbean (Vigna radiata (Linn.) Wilczek) and correlations with abiotic factors under Terai agroclimatic zone of West Bengal. Bioscan. 2017;12:893-97.
  11. 11. Mahore P, Pandey AK. Seasonal incidence of major insect pests of mungbean. Indian J Entomol. 2023;85(1):219-21.
  12. 12. Prajapati AP, Patel PB, Bhimani HD, Desai AV. Population dynamics of major insect pests of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) and its correlation with different abiotic factors under south Gujarat conditions. Int J Chem Stud. 2020;8(3):2307-11.
  13. 13. Patel RM, Patel HC, Parmar RG. Seasonal activity of spotted pod borer, Maruca vitrata (Fabricius) in relation to weather factors infesting cowpea. Pharma Innov J. 2022;11(9):1034-38.
  14. 14. Patel HC, Borad PK. Seasonal incidence of Maruca vitrata (Geyer) on green gram. Adv Life Sci. 2016;5(1):178-81.
  15. 15. Sonune VR, Bharodia RK, Jethva DM, Dabhadem PL. Seasonal incidence of spotted pod borer, Maruca testulalis (Geyer) on blackgram. Legume Res. 2010;33(1):61-63.
  16. 16. Yadav KS, Pandya HV, Patel SM, Patel SD, Saiyad MM. Population dynamics of major insect pests of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.). Int J Plant Prot. 2015;8(1):112-17. https://doi.org/10.5555/20153243163

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.