Abstract

A survey was carried out at the Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani and nearby locations in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala during 2006-2007 to assess the seasonal abundance of sucking pests infesting coccinia. The dominant sucking pests were scale insect, Saissetia hemispherica (Targ.) and aphid, Aphis spiraecola Patch. The minor sucking pests recorded were leaf footed bug, Leptoglossus australis F. and pentatomid bug, Aspongopus obscurus F. Very low infestation of green stink bug, Nezara viridula Linn. and mealy bug, Ferrisia virgata (Ckll.) was also observed. Due to desapping activity of these pests, the vigour of the plant was reduced. Seasonal occurrence of the pests showed higher population and more damage in summer than rainy season. Correlation studies revealed strong positive correlation between maximum temperature and population of the pests and extent of damage whereas rainfall had significant negative relationship with them.

Keywords: Coccinia, Seasonal incidence, Saissetia hemispherica, Aphis spiraecola, Aspongopus obscurus