Indexing

Species Identification and Seasonal Abundance of Red Spider Mite on Okra at Vidarbha Region of India

Author: Archana N. Borkar*, A.V. Kolhe, D.B. Undirwade, S. S. Mane, H.R. Sawai and V.J. Tambe

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Abstract

Tetranychus mites have been reported to cause a loss of 20 to 45% in okra yield. Limited literature is available on red spider mite occurrence from the Vidarbha region at the same time species level identification of red spider mite from this region is unclear. On that note, during Kharif, 2017 and 2018 a study on seasonal abundance of red spider mite on okra was conducted in three different agro-ecological zones of Vidarbha region (viz., Akola, Gadchiroli and Nagpur) of Maharashtra, India and simultaneously field collected red spider mite was identified at the species level by both morphological and molecular techniques. The study revealed red spider mite species, Tetranychus macfarlanei as a predominant species on okra in the Vidarbha region, and to our best knowledge, this is the first report from these locations. The higher mite population was recorded at Akola location with 66.4 mites/2.5 cm2 leaf area during 38th MW of Kharif 2018 while the least mite population was recorded at

Keywords

Tetranychus macfarlanei, Kharif, red spider mite, Vidarbha, species identification, seasonal abundance.

Conclusion

This study identified and confirmed T. macfarlanei as the predominant species of red spider mite and registered it as the first record of such kind of species on okra in Vidarbha to our best knowledge. The peak of the mite population occurred during September and October. Akola location showed a relatively higher mite population (66.4 mites/2.5 cm2). At Gadchiroli and Nagpur locations, maximum temperature has a positive and significant correlation with spider mite while relative humidity (morning and evening) and rainfall had a negative but significant correlation.

References

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How to cite this article

Borkar, A.N., Kolhe, A.V., Undirwade, D.B., Mane, S.S., Sawai, H.R. and Tambe, V.J. (2021). Species Identification and Seasonal Abundance of Red Spider Mite on Okra at Vidarbha Region of India. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 13(3a): 134-1