Seasonal incidence of spider mite in gerbera and its management under protected cultivation Zehra Ifrahim*, Manzar Abu1, Ahmad M. J.1, Nazki I. T.2, Nazir Nageena3, Khan F. A.4 Division of Entomology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar Campus, Srinagar-190025, JKUT, India 1Division of Entomology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar Campus, Srinagar-190025, JKUT, India 2Division of Floriculture and Landscaping Architecture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar Campus, Srinagar-190025, JKUT, India 3Division of Agriculture Statistics, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar Campus, Srinagar-190025, JKUT, India 4Division of Basic Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar Campus, Srinagar-190025, JKUT, India *Corresponding author: syedifra367@gmail.com
Online Published on 23 December, 2022. Abstract The current study was conducted in the experimental plot of Division of Floriculture & Landscaping Architecture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Shalimar from March - February (2020–2021) under protected cultivation. The mite incidence on leaves reached the peak (1.75 mites/leaf) in 24th Standard Meteorological Week (SMW)-June when the mean maximum temperature was 33.3°C while on flowers, peak (13.95 mites/flower) was obtained in 27th SMW (July) at a corresponding maximum mean temperature of 37.7°C. The correlation studies between mite population and weather parameters revealed a positive and highly significant correlation of mites with temperature (minimum and maximum) whereas negative and highly significant relationship with maximum relative humidity was observed. Bio-efficacy of various treatments against mites revealed spiromesifen 5%EC@1ml/L to be most efficient followed by chlorfenapyr 10%SC @1ml/L. However, fipronil 5% SC @ 1 ml/L showed the lowest efficacy against mites. Top Keywords Gerbera jamesonii, Mites, Seasonal incidence, Protected cultivation. Top |