Beet army worm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner): A newly emerging pest of Chick pea and its effect on dates of sowing and seasonal incidence

The pest appeared in the field 15 to 20 days after germination of chick pea crop i.e. at seedling stage and remained active up to 25 to 30 days. Thereafter, the infestation was negligible from flowering to maturity of the crop. Correlation study revealed that during 2014–15, there was positive and significant correlation between Spodoptera exigua infestation with maximum and minimum temperatures when the crop was sown on 15^th September. However, during 30^th November sown crop, there was significant negative correlation of maximum temperature with higher incidence on the cv. Digvijay. Same trend was observed during 2015–16 and all the varieties showed positive and significant correlation with maximum temperature when crop was sown on ₁st October. Relative humidity had no significantly association with S. exigua almost all the sowing date except 30^th November sown crop during 2014–15. However, during 2015–16, morning relative humidity showed positive significant association with S. exigua at 15^th September sown crop for all varieties. The association of rainfall pattern and the incidence of the pest at different sowing dates was non-significant. It could be concluded from the present study that early and far late sowing of chick pea resulted in higher infestation of S. exigua than mid sown chick pea crop.