Influence of cultivars on population dynamics of brinjal shoot and fruit borer leucinodes orbonalis

Shoot and fruit borer Leucinodes orbonalis Guenee (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is the key pest of brinjal. The present study on its population dynamics in relation to brinjal cultivars revealed significant variation in fruit damage (6.73% to 60.26%). The least damage was observed on Eeranagere (23.02%) and maximum on Mullubadane (27.92%). The infestation varied at different growth stages; least (<22.00%) between 8-11^th and 35-38^th standard meteorological weeks (SMW) in rabi and kharif seasons, respectively. The maximum damage (35.14%) was observed at 50^th SMW during rabi 2017 and 43^rd and 44^th SMW (~35.60%) during kharif 2018; the least damage was in rabi (24.83%) compared to kharif (26.39%). The wind velocity and maximum temperature had a significant negative relation with fruit damage during the rabi season; but in kharif morning relative humidity and minimum temperature had a significant negative association.