M. SHAHATAZ BANU*, P. LAVANYA KUMARI, SK. NAFEEZ UMAR AND I. PARAMASIVA

Department of Statistics and Computer Applications, ANGRAU-S.V. Agricultural College,Tirupati-517 502.

ABSTRACT

Rice (Oryza sativa, f: Gramineae) is an important food crop among the cereals that is majorly affected by insect pests. More than 70 insect species are associated with the rice crop at one stage or the other, and 20 are pests of major economic significance. Among the sucking pests, Yellow Stem Borer (YSB) and Rice Leaf Folder (RLF) cause a severe threat to rice production. There is a need to understand the similarity of pest patterns among various locations in Andhra Pradesh before fixing the type of forewarning advisory, either at the district level or location-specific. In this context, Primary data on major insect catches in rice were collected from solar light traps installed at Farmer’s open Rice fields under the Sree PVF Project running from S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati in Eight districts of Andhra Pradesh during and Kharif seasons. The pest patterns were compared using Pettit’s test and Buishand Range test for two major pests of Rice in eight districts viz., Nandyala, SPS Nellore, Anantapur, Annamayya, Chittoor, YSR Kadapa, Krishna and East Godavari. The study concludes that effective management of pest patterns is crucial for sustainable rice production and explores essential information for location- specific pest management strategies.

KEYWORDS: Solar light traps, insect catches in rice, pest pattern and non-parametric approach.