Occurrence of natural enemies in maize and the predatory potential of selected arthropods against fall armyworm in Multan, Pakistan

Riaz, Saleem; Ishtiaq, Muhammad; Khan, Fawad Zafar Ahmad; Ali, Ghulam; Mehmood, Mirza Abid; Zaman, Muhammad Sohail Qamar

doi:10.1007/s42690-024-01227-3

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Maize is Pakistan's third most important cereal crop, following wheat and rice (Ali et al 2020). It is cultivated on 4.8% of the total cropped land and adds 3% value added to agriculture and 0.7% to the country's GDP (Riaz et al 2024). Pakistan has been ranked 22nd in terms of cultivated area and 68th in yield from the maize producing countries (Akhtar et al 2024).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey and seasonal abundance of major insect pests in the maize fields of Punjab, Pakistan

Akhtar,

Tahir,

Azizullah

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Major gaps exist regarding the biodiversity and population ecology of insect pests in maize crop in Pakistan. The objective of this study was to survey the species composition, relative abundance, and population dynamics of arthropod insect pests in maize crop in Punjab, Pakistan. A two-year (2018–2019) survey of insect pests’ species biodiversity in field maize crops was carried out in two districts (Kasur and Lahore). A total of 49 pest species belonging to 45 genera, 27 families, and 6 orders were recorded in this study. Noctuidae dominated over the other pest families, constituting 49.17% of the total pests catch. Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) was found to be the most dominant species, constituting 18.51% of the sampled individuals. Moreover, the estimated pest species richness from both districts was 94%. While, the diversity indices (Shannon-Weiner and Simpson) revealed non-significant differences in arthropod pest communities at six selected sites. Using the Menhinick and Margalef indices suggested higher species richness in the Lahore district. Overall, the pests population densities were consistently fluctuated throughout both cropping seasons; peaking in April-May and reaching the lowest levels in June-July. Spearman's rank correlation analysis indicated a negative association between insect abundance and temperature while, non-significant correlation was found with humidity in both districts. These findings can help to develop sustainable pests’ control strategies, with implications both at local and global scale in maize growing areas.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%