Basic HTML Version
Molecular Entomology 2012, Vol.3, No.4, 18
-
22
http://me.sophiapublisher.com
18
Research Article
Open Access
Bio-diversity and Seasonal Activity of Arthropod Fauna in Brassicaceous Crop
Ecosystems of Meghalaya, North East India
D.M. Firake
1
, Damitre Lytan
2
, G.T. Behere
1
1. Division of Crop Improvement (Entomology) ICAR Research Complex for NEH region, Umiam-793103, Meghalaya, India
2. College of Post Graduate Studies (CAU), Barapani, 793103, Meghalaya, India
Corresponding author email: dfirake@gmail.com;
Author
Molecular Entomology 2012, Vol.3, No.4 doi: 10.5376/me.2012.03.0004
Received: 12 Dec., 2012
Accepted: 28 Dec., 2012
Published: 7 Jan., 2013
Copyright
© 2012 Firake et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article as:
Firake et al., 2012, Bio-diversity and Seasonal Activity of Arthropod Fauna in Brassicaceous Crop Ecosystems of Meghalaya, North East India, Molecular
Entomology, Vol.3, No.4 18
-
22 (doi: 10.5376/me.2012.03.0004)
Abstract
Biodiversity of arthropod fauna was assessed in brassicaceous ecosystems of Meghalaya during 2010-12. Three species
of aphids viz.,
Liphaphis erysimi
,
Brevicoryne brassicae
and
Myzus persicae
and large white cabbage butterfly (
Pieris brassicae
)
were found to be a major pests of brassicaceous plants in this region; while pentatomid bugs (
Nazara viridula
), flea beetle
(
Phylletreta cruciferae
), leaf beetle (
Monolepta signata
), saw fly (
Athalia lugens proxima
) and small white cabbage butterfly (
Pieris
repae
) were appeared to be a minor pests. Natural enemies, especially, predators of aphid viz., coccinellid beetles, syrphids flies and
spiders were recorded in this ecosystem. Parasitoids include nymphal-adult parasitoid of aphids,
Diaeretiella repae,
larval parasitoids
of cabbage butterfly,
Hyposoter ebeninus
and
Cotesia glomerata
. Besides, activities of several pollinators were also observed during
the flowering stage. Major predators of aphids were
Coccinella septumpuncata
complex and
C. transvarsalis
complex. This study
also recorded a seasonal activity of above mentioned pests and natural enemies and it would certainly be useful in understanding the
biodiversity and role of different tropic levels in this ecosystem.
Keywords
Arthropod fauna; Biodiversity; Seasonal activity; Brassicaceous crops; Predator; Pollinator
1 Introduction
Brassicaceous crops viz., cabbage, cauliflower, knol
khol, brocolii, radish, Chinese kale, mustard, rapeseed,
toria, sarson etc. are now being widely used as a food
crops all over the world, either in the form of fresh
vegetables or after processing. Several insect pests
have been reported in brassicaceous crops, but very
few are a real offender and frequently cause serious
losses in yield. Amongst, cabbage butterflies (
Pieris
brassicae
and
P. repae
) are the most serious pests of
cole crops (vegetable brassica) in hilly regions of
India (Firake et al., 2012; Lytan and Firake, 2012).
The diamondback moth,
Plutella xylostella
is another
most severe pest of crucifers worldwide (Talekar and
Shelton, 1993). The aphid,
Lipaphis erysimi
is the
most devastating agent in oilseed brassica (Rouf and
Kabir, 1997). Furthermore, arthropod complex in
vegetable brassica as well as in oilseed brassica are
also common.
Several control tactics have been recommended and
followed to reduce the damage intensity by these pests;
although chemical control unfortunately till date a
dominant weapon to fight against them. Protective
measures using different chemicals can cause
undesirable side effects to human health, as the cole
crops are being used as fresh vegetables in human diet.
These chemicals are not only expensive but also cause
critical health related issues in animals including
humans (Dasgupta, 2007). Moreover, uncontrolled use
of synthetic chemicals causes severe damage to
on-farm biodiversity as well. Therefore, biological
control is now, emerging as an important component
of pest management (Balevski et al., 2007). Biological
control of brassica pests has traditionally relied on
microbial pesticides, predators and parasitoids (Van
Driesche et al., 2003). Additionally, natural biological
control also plays a crucial role in almost every crop
ecosystems. The Meghalaya is the part of north
eastern Himalayas (India) and considered to be a one
of the components of mega-biodiversity hot spot.
Unstable weather conditions of the region are highly
conducive for the occurrence and multiplication of
several insect pests. Large portion of the region are
still undisturbed, where natural biological control
plays a significant role in management of major pests