Abstract :
Studies on the seasonal incidence of mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley on ashwagandha, Withania somnifera Dunal was carried out for two consecutive years during 2015-16 to 2016-17. The mealybug, P. solenopsis was observed as a major insect pest on ashwagandha. The present investigation revealed that the maximum population of mealybugs was observed during the second fortnight of December with 123.00 mealybugs per ten centimeter apical stem during 2015-16 while in 2016-17 maximum population was noticed during the first fortnight of January with 117.75 mealybugs per ten centimeter apical stem. The correlation analysis of mealybug population to meterological parameters showed that the population was highly significant and negatively correlated with maximum temperature (-0.562**) and minimum temperature (-0.837**) during 2015-16 but highly significantly negatively correlated with minimum temperature (-0.839**) in 2016-17.
Keyword :
Seasonal incidence, mealybug, ashwagandha, meteorological data, correlation