Seasonal occurrence of arthropods and influence of biotic factors on aphids in aonla Emblica officinalis gaertn in Eastern Uttar Pradesh

Indian gooseberry or aonla (Emblica officinalis Gaertn) is considered as a wonder fruit crop due to its medicinal and therapeutic properties from the ancient time in India. Owing to its versatile nature and adaptability to diverse soils and climatic conditions, aonla cultivation moved from forest confine to commercial production. A total of 31 and 28 arthropods were recorded, respectively, at various growth stages of aonla during 2013 and 2014 under prevailing agroclimatic conditions of eastern Uttar Pradesh. The arthropods observed grouped on the basis of their occurrence and period of activity at various growth stages. The natural enemies like coccinellids, syrphids, spiders, honey bees and black ants were also observed. The population of lady bird beetles, syrphid fly and spiders was found to be positively correlated to the population of aphid.