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

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2026)

Seasonal pattern of pests and predator activity in tomato ecosystem

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.9704
Submitted
29 May 2025
Published
20-10-2025 — Updated on 08-01-2026
Versions

Abstract

An investigation was conducted over two consecutive years (Rabi 2023-24 and 2024-25) to study the temporal pattern of insect pests and natural enemies activity and their relationship with weather parameters. The study focused on key pests; fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera), whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), aphid (Aphis gossypii) and jassid (Amrasca biguttula biguttula) as well as their natural enemies, primarily Coccinellids. The fruit borer was first observed during the 43rd Standard Meteorological Week (SMW) with an initial mean population of 0.06±0.06 larvae per plant, peaking at 3.52±0.42 larvae per plant in the 52nd SMW. Whiteflies first appeared in the 42nd SMW with an initial population of 1.99±0.46 individuals per three leaves, peaking at 15.16±13.38 individuals in the 51st SMW. Aphids were initially recorded at 1.15±1.15 individuals per three leaves during the 42nd SMW, reaching a peak of 5.06±2.08 in the 51st SMW. Jassids emerged during the 42nd SMW with a mean population of 1.48±0.62 individuals, peaking at 6.49±2.71 individuals per three leaves in the 50th SMW. Natural enemies such as Coccinellids were first seen in the 42nd SMW and a peak population (1.99±0.81 individuals per plant) observed in the 49th SMW. Correlation analysis revealed that fruit borer populations were significantly and negatively correlated with maximum (r = -0.787**) and minimum (r = -0.734**) temperatures while positively and significantly associated with morning relative humidity (r = 0.637**). Whitefly showed a significant negative correlation with maximum (r = -0.436*) and minimum (r = -0.549*) temperatures. Aphids also displayed substantial negative correlations with maximum (r = -0.579**) and minimum (r = -0.708**) temperatures and had a strong positive correlation with Coccinellids (r = 0.895**), indicating a predator-prey relationship. Jassids showed a significant negative correlation with evening relative humidity (r = -0.496*), while other weather parameters showed non-significant associations. The multiple regression analysis revealed that maximum temperature (°C), minimum temperature (°C), morning relative humidity (%), evening relative humidity (%), rainfall (mm) together influenced to an extent of 73.50 (R2=0.735), 54.80 (R2=0.548), 85.10 (R2=0.851) and 63.20 (R2=0.632) per cent of fruit borer, whitefly, aphid and jassid population, respectively.

References

  1. 1. Kachave DR, Sonkamble MM, Patil SK. Population dynamics of major insect pests infesting tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum (Miller). J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2020;9(3):344-8.
  2. 2. Chula MP, Jat SL, Kumar A, Nitharwal RS. Seasonal incidence of tomato fruit borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner), and their correlation with abiotic factors. J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2017;6(4):1445-7.
  3. 3. Mateljan G. The world's healthiest foods: essential guide for the healthiest way of eating. George Mateljan Foundation. 2016:880.
  4. 4. Singh JK, Chauhan S, Kumar P, Kumar R. Seasonal incidence of insect pests of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Miller). Int J Environ Clim Chang. 2023;13(10):1369-75.
  5. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijecc/2023/v13i102789
  6. 5. Anonymous. Area, production, and productivity statistics of tomato in India and Maharashtra. Agricultural Statistics Report. 2018.
  7. 6. Lange WH, Bronson L. Insect pests of tomatoes. Annu Rev Entomol. 1981;26(1):345-71. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.26.010181.002021
  8. 7. Goudia N, Jena MK, Singh RR. Dynamics of pests, natural enemies and pollinators of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill and correlation with weather parameters. Int J Environ Clim Chang. 2023;13(6):128-42. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijecc/2023/v13i61808
  9. 8. Yadav A, Singh DR, Biswas SK, Umrao RS, Singh M, Yadav A, Kumar A. Population dynamics of tomato fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera Hubner) infesting tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) crops and their correlation with diverse meteorological factors under field condition. Biol Forum. 2023;15(9):397-402.
  10. 9. Gupta R, Kumar A, Gupta P. Incidence and management of Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) on tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Miller at Trans Yamuna region Prayagraj (U.P). J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2020;9(5):2310-2.
  11. 10. Kumar S, Singh SK. Incidence of insect pests on tomato under the influence of weather factors. Environ Ecol. 2022;40(3):1144-9.
  12. 11. Cammell ME, Knight JD. Effects of climatic change on the population dynamics of crop pests. Adv Ecol Res. 1992;22:117-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2504(08)60135-X
  13. 12. Mandloi R, Pachori R, Sharma AK, Thomas M, Thakur AS. Impact of weather factors on the incidence of major insect pests of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) cv. H-86 (Kashi Vishesh). Ecoscan. 2015;8:305-10.
  14. 13. Mondal B, Mondal P, Das A, Bhattyacharyya K. Seasonal incidence of different insect pests of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and their correlation with abiotic factors in the lateritic zone of West Bengal. J Entomol Zool Stud. 2019;7(1):1426-30.
  15. 14. Chatar VP, Raghvani KL, Joshi MD, Ghadge SM, Deshmukh SG, Dalave SK. Population dynamics of pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) infesting chickpea. Int J Plant Prot. 2010;3(1):65-7.
  16. 15. Ghante VN, Duttarganvi S, Kulkarni V. Influence of weather parameters on population of whitefly, Bemisia tabaci in sunflower. J Entomol Zool Stud. 2020;8(6):1729-34.
  17. 16. Jha SK, Kumar M. Effect of weather parameters on incidence of whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) on tomato. J Entomol Zool Stud. 2017;5(6):304-6.
  18. 17. Zamani AA, Talebi AA, Fathipour Y, Baniameri V. Effect of temperature on biology and population growth parameters of Aphis gossypii Glover (Hom., Aphididae) on greenhouse cucumber. J Appl Entomol. 2006;130(8):453-60.
  19. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0418.2006.01088.x
  20. 18. Aman AS, Singh SK, Chandra U. Comparative biology and predatory potential of ladybird beetle, Coccinella septempunctata at different temperature regimes. J Environ Biol. 2023;44:275-80. https://doi.org/10.22438/jeb/44/3/SI-159
  21. 19. Harshita AP, Saikia DK, Anjumoni D, Bora LC, Phukan SL. Seasonal incidence of aphid, Aphis gossypii and coccinellid beetles in tomato ecosystem, Solanum lycopersicum L. Ann Entomol Soc Am. 2016;97(2):209-18.
  22. 20. Patel MG, Radadia GG. Population dynamics of jassid, Amrasca biguttula biguttula (Ishida) on Bt cotton under varying weather conditions. J Entomol Zool Stud. 2018;6(6):664-72.
  23. 21. Sharma HC, Pampapathy G. Influence of transgenic cotton on the relative abundance and damage by target and non-target insect pests under different protection regimes in India. J Entomol Zool Stud. 2006;7(3):879-82.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.