Division of Entomology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012 (India).
Up to 1968, pearl millet crop was invaded by the key pests, viz., shootfly, Atherigona approximata Malloch; stem borer, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe); white grub, Holotrichia spp. However, the released hybrids and varieties led to the change in pest situation particularly the appearance of sugarcane leafhopper, Pyrilla perpusilla Walker on pearl millet and is a constraint in its production. An unusually heavy infestation of P. perpusilla occurred in north India during 1990 and 1991, and thereafter its outbreak was observed every year. Evaluation of twenty pearl millet genotypes revealed that MH 414 and MH 434 showed 0–1 egg mass per plant and the leaf injury grade being 2.6 and 2.3, respectively (scale 0–9). The dark green colour of leaves of these two genotypes, perhaps, contributed towards its lcss susceptibility to P. perpusilla. Six entries, viz., MH 410, MH 285, MP 207, MP 234, MP 246 and MP 241 exhibited 4.1 to 6.0 egg masses per plant and the leaf injury varied from 8.0 to 9.0, indicating their high susceptibility to leafhopper. The colour of leaves of these genotypes was pale green and comparable with sugarcane leaf colour, thereby attracting the leaf hopper in large numbers. This is evidenced by genotype MH 410, where all the plants withered due to heavy infestation and yietded only 10–15 gm bajra seeds, establishing its pest status.
