Biology and Incidence of the Jackfruit Bud Weevil Ochyromera artocarpi Marshall (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Abstract

Background: Jackfruit is one of the favourite fruit crops of the world owing to its taste and nutritional value and it is rightly called as the ‘Poor man’s food’. India is the second biggest producer of this fruit in the world; but commercial cultivation of jackfruit is still at a primitive stage in India. Besides a survey for the insect pests of the jackfruit in the earlier part of this century, there is no much research work has been carried out from India on jackfruit. Realizing an immediate need the present study was undertaken to generate more precise information about the biology of jackfruit bud weevil Ochyromera artocarpi, an important pest of jackfruit. Methods: The biology and seasonal incidence of the jackfruit bud weevil, Ochyromera artocarpi (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) were studied in Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (ICAR - IIHR), Bengaluru (12° 8’N; 77° 35’E), India during 2013-2016. Result: The male and female weevils completed their life cycle in 25.18 ± 1.09 days and 26.14 ± 1.12 days respectively with five larval instars. The mean incubation period of the egg was 3.90 ± 0.20 days. The mean duration of development of larval stages, prepupa and pupa were 11.84 ± 1.44, 3.10 ± 0.07 and 7.30 ± 0.50 days, respectively. The first and last instar (fifth) larva was 1.27 ± 0.05 and 4.98 ± 0.61 mm in length, respectively. The infestation of O. artocarpi was observed during December-April and reached its peak in March. Evaporation was positively correlated, and precipitation was negatively correlated with O. artocarpi incidence. The results of this study will be helpful to develop IPM strategies against the weevil, which is a major pest of jackfruit.