Hadda Beetle: A Potential Devastator in Brinjal
M. Chandrasekaran
Horticultural College and Research Institute for Women, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu (620 027), India
G. Gokulapriya
Horticultural College and Research Institute for Women, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu (620 027), India
R. P. Soundararajan*
Horticultural College and Research Institute for Women, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu (620 027), India
DOI: NIL
Keywords: Brinjal, Hadda beetle, Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata, IPM
Abstract
Vegetables constitute an essential diet component for balanced nutrition. Brinjal is the principal vegetable crop originated from India, possessing wide range of medicinal properties. In India about 12.68 million MT of brinjal is produced annually and ranks second position in global trade. Lady beetles are well known for their role as predator of aphids, mealy bugs and other insect pests. However, there is one group of lady bird beetles which is feeding on brinjal rather than predator. These are hadda beetles belongs to the genus Epilachna with many species under the genus viz., Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata, E. dodecastigma, E. chrysomelina, E. similis, E. fluvosignata, E. sparsa and E. varivesta. The grubs and adults cause injury to the plant by scraping lower epidermis leaving behind the uneaten veins showing characteristic skeletonized symptom. The damage can be reduced by proper monitoring, adoption of various integrated management strategies.
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Reference
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