Influence of abiotic and biotic factors on the seasonal incidence of major sucking pests of brinjal

Field trials were conducted to study the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on the seasonal incidence of major sucking pests of brinjal, whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) and leaf hopper (Amrasca devastans) during rabi 2010–11 and 2011–12. The incidence of whitefly population started from first week after transplanting in both the years and peak incidence was observed during the final week of October to first week of November and decreased gradually up to crop maturity. The leaf hopper incidence was also observed during first week after transplanting in both the years and population reached peak in fourth week of October. The major sucking pest incidence had a non-significant association with abiotic factors like maximum and minimum temperatures, relative humidity and rainfall. The incidence of sucking pests showed a positive and significant correlation with biotic factors like coccinellid beetles as well as spiders.