Seasonal fluctuations of phloem-feeding insect pests in relation to microclimatic variables in brinjal

The seasonal dynamics of major insect pests revealed that whitefly, jassid and aphid population initiated from 32nd SMW and persisted till 46th SMW. The peaked population of whitefly and jassid was noticed during the 37th SMW, while aphid peaked population was observed during the 35th SMW. The maximum fruit infestation was observed during the 41st SMW. The correlation analysis revealed that Whitefly infestation was significantly positively correlated with maximum temperature (r = 0.604) and maximum relative humidity (r = 0.588). Jassid infestation showed significant positive correlations with maximum temperature (r = 0.578) and maximum relative humidity (r = 0.523). Aphid infestation had strong significant positive correlations with maximum temperature (r = 0.760), maximum relative humidity (r = 0.780), and rainfall (r = 0.676). No significant correlations were found with minimum temperature, minimum relative humidity, or rainfall for whitefly and jassid, and with minimum temperature and minimum relative humidity for aphids.