Abstract

•                                An experiment was conducted to assess the impact of insecticide, lufenuron 5.4% EC on arthropod diversity in cabbage ecosystem. The two seasons diversity indices revealed 2866 arthropods from 26 families under eight orders in sprayed and unsprayed condition. Diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), two species of aphids viz., Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus), cabbage whitefly Aleyrodes proletella (Linnaeus) were found to be a major pests of cabbage plants in this region. Minor pests are recorded as follows Cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hubner), Leaf roller, Sylepta lunalis (Guenee), Marmalade hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus (de Geer), Painted bug, Bagrada picta (Fabricius) and Mealybug, Coccidohystrix insolita (Green). Natural enemies, predators of aphid viz., syrphids flies, coccinellid beetles, and spiders were recorded in this cabbage ecosystem. Larval parasitoids Cotesia plutellae of cabbage diamondback moth was recorded. Presence of mantids and hymenopterans (braconids) indicated the relative safety of the insecticides in these ecosystems. The biodiversity indices in the sprayed (997) and unsprayed (1869) fields showed higher diversity in unsprayed fields revealing the influence of insecticidal spraying.

Key words : Biodiversity, Lufenuron, Pesticides impact, Alpha diversity indices, Cabbage, Arthropods.