0 Views
Department of Entomology, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502.
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of various border crops viz., maize, pearl millet, fodder sorghum, foxtail millet, sunhemp, dhaincha, sunflower and marigold on predator populations, specifically coccinellids and spiders in blackgram as major crop. The research was conducted at the Agricultural College Farm, Naira, ANGRAU, during the rabi seasons of 2021-22 and 2022-23.The findings revealed that the populations of coccinellids in blackgram crop with marigold and maize as border crops were 24.63 and 24.30 numbers per 10 plants, respectively. Similarly, the spider populations were recorded at 16.73 and 16.50 numbers per 10 plants for marigold and maize, respectively. These populations were significantly higher compared to the sole blackgram crop, which had an average of 13.5 coccinellids and 10.55 spiders per 10 plants across both vegetative and reproductive stages. Notably, all other border crops were statistically comparable to marigold and maize in terms of spider population, with the exception of the blackgram sole crop. It is concluded that, marigold and maize crops were found to be effective border crops for enhancing predator population in blackgram.
KEYWORDS: Blackgram, biodiversity, border crops, coccinellids and spiders.