Ecological studies relevant to the management of mango hopper, Amritodus atkinsoni Lethierry.
Sushil Kumar, Bhatt R. I., Patel B. N.
Author Affiliation: Agric. Expt. Station (AES), Navsari Agric. Univ., Paria (Pardi), Valsad - 396 145, Gujarat, India.
Journal of Applied Zoological Researches 16 : 67-69
Abstract : The distribution and seasonal incidence of A. atkinsoni were studied in a mango (cv. 'Alphonso') orchard in Valsad, Gujarat, India, during 1997-2004. All the post-embryonic stages (nymphs and adults) were recorded fortnightly. As regards to distribution pattern among different tree sections, the different indices of dispersion, i.e. variance-mean ratio, mean crowding, Lloyd's index of patchiness, Morista indices and Chi-square departure from a Poisson distribution were calculated. These indices, in general, revealed uniform distribution. Studies on population dynamics revealed that the hopper populations were comparatively higher during flowering stage and had a peak during the second fortnight of March, coinciding with the marble stage of the crop. The maximum temperature and sunshine hours caused the build up of the pest population, while relative humidity, rainfall and rainy days had adversely affected the pest population. Multiple correlation coefficient between the pest and the abiotic factors was significant, explaining 78.79% variation in the population by all these factors.