1Central Insecticides Laboratory, Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, NH-IV, Faridabad-121 001, Haryana (India).
2PG-Department of Zoology, Sanatan Dharm College, Muzaffarnagar-251 001, Uttar Pradesh (India).
The impact of climatic factors on the population dynamics of Antigastra catalaunalis (Dup.) under the agro-climatic conditions of western Uttar Pradesh for two consecutive years during 1989 and 1990 was studied. The pest was active from germination to harvesting of the crop. The larval population reached its peak i.e., 80.33/m2 and 85.17/m2 in the first and second weeks of October, respectively. Average weekly temperatures 28.85 to 29.75°C and relative humidity 71.21 to 72.21 per cent coupled with no rainfall were found most congenial environmental conditions for the fast multiplication of the pest. A high negative association was showed by larval population with the minimum temperature and afternoon relative humidity. This suggests that the effective control of sesamum leaf webber and capsule borer should be initiated as soon as the rains stop and/or the crop approaches reproductive phase.
