Insect biodiversity of finger millet ecosystem in coastal Odisha

Finger millet, Elusine coracana (L) Gaertn belongs to small millet group which is a crop of antiquity and known for its suitability to adverse soil, moisture and weather conditions. Under the umbrella of All India Co-ordinated Small Millet Improvement Project (AICSMIP) the experiment was conducted on varietal screening of finger millet crop against major insect pests and population dynamics of natural enemies during Kharif 2012 at Centre for Pulse Research (CPR), Berhampur, Odisha. Twenty eight entries of initial varietal trial (IVT) along with two local check varieties were included in the experiment. From the observations recorded it was observed that no major insect pests were affecting finger millet crop. During the early growth stage grasshoppers were defoliating the leaves. Among sucking insects only aphid infestation was marked. The observations on subsequent days noticed the naturally occurring predators like spiders and coccinellid predators. The fingers of Ragi provide a perfect niche for breeding and shelter to the spiders who play vital role in natural insect pest control. The crop apart from the resilience to climate also provides a perfect ecosystem and niche for natural beneficial organisms where the damaging insect pests are controlled and needs no external plant protection measures.