Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar263145, Uttarakhand, India
*Email: mayankkumar1411@gmail.com (corresponding author)
Online Published on 08 February, 2023.
Holotrichia nagpurensis Khan and Ghai is a major white grub species of subfamily Melolonthinae. Its wide host range has been reported from different parts of India. An experiment was carried out to find host preference and population dynamics at three locations of Pantnagar in Terai region of Udham Singh Nagar District during 2018-19. Beetles were recorded from six host plants among which neem Azadirachta indica, was the major one. The p-value of two-way ANOVA between populations of three locations (0.0006<0.001) and from six hosts (0.0002<0.001) showed that there exists significant difference in distribution and feeding preference of H. nagpurensis on host plants. Among the hosts, A. indica was found to be the most preferred with maximum adult density (419 adults) and average 46.55 beetles/tree; and the multiple comparisons revealed a significant host preference. Correlation coefficients revealed that minimum relative humidity exhibits a negative relationship with beetle emergence.
Scarabaeidae, Holotrichia nagpurensis, Adults, Host preference, Azadirachta indica, Population dynamics, Weather parameters, Relative humidity, Correlation coefficients
