Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is an important rainfed nut fruit grown in few states of India, preferably in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The latter has the ascendency in producing the cherished walnuts over the years. However, in last decade or so, it has been severely infested by walnut weevil, Alcidodes porrectirostris Marshall (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) particularly in Bhaderwah location of Jammu province of Jammu and Kashmir. This insect-pest destroys the kernel of walnut fruits completely prematurely leading to mammoth yield loss. Since, the information on yield loss due to A. porrectirostris in walnut in quantitative terms is very scarce. In the backdrop of this, we took this opportunity to estimate yield loss as a function of fruit infestation due to weevil larvae and the number of healthy fruits per healthy tree. In order to quantify the approximate yield loss, an extensive survey was conducted during 2019-2020 in walnut growing areas of Jammu. The whole yield of eac

Walnut, Alcidodes porrectirostris, yield loss, kernel, survey, rainfed, infestation

Juglans regia is an important nut fruit crop with more than 90% production in the state/UT of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a valuable fruit crop in terms of its nutritional value, wood products and rural development. Of late, this fruit crop has been attacked by several insect- pests. Our results and observations show that the quantity of fruit loss due to A. porrectirostris has increased over recent decades. While quantifying the yield loss, we found that it has caused more harm in Bhaderwah area than the rest of places studied. Therefore, it is quite essential that necessary management practices may be employed at appropriate time so that we may be able to save this cherished fruit from weevil attack.

Guroo, M.A., Ahmad, H., Gupta, R.K., Gani, M., Bali, K., Mir, M. and Jamwal, S.S. (2021). Estimation of Yield Loss Caused by Alcidodes porrectirostris in Walnut Growing Areas of Jammu Division (J &K). Biological Forum – An International Journal, 13(2