Natural Enemies of Helicoverpa armigera Hubner on Chickpea

The field density of Helicoverpa armigera along with its associated natural enemies was monitored on chickpea in Manipur. The incidence of the pest began from February and continued till May. In the present investigation, 5 parasitoids were found associated with H. armigera and among the parasitoids Campoletis chlorideae was recorded as the most important natural enemy of this pest. The percentage of parasitism ranged from 0.18 to 23.81% from March to May. The maximum incidence of the parasitoids were recorded during the first and second week of April 1998–2000. The data revealed a high positive relation between the pest and the parasitoid indicating an important role of this natural enemy in suppressing the pest population to some extent. Predators including spiders, birds (such as house sparrow, common myna, spotted dove and bulbul), predatory beetle and some species of ants were also recorded.