Studies on the insect pollinators diversity and their relative abundance in Eruca sativa Mill. (Arugula) and Brassica rapa L. (field mustard) was carried out during spring season from February to April consecutively during all the three years of 2016–18. Insect pollinators observed belonged to four orders i.e. Hymenoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera. A total of 20 major species of insect pollinators were recorded. The highest abundance of pollinator species belonged to Hymenoptera. The most prominent insect pollinator species were Apis mellifera followed by other three honey bee species of A. cerana, A. florea, and A. dorsata respectively. Some species of solitary bees were also recorded. From Diptera, four species of syrphid fly and one species from Muscidae family were also recorded. Insect pollinators recorded from order Lepidoptera were Pieris brassicae, Vanessa cardui, and Papilio demoleus. Lady bird beetle Coccinella septempunctata was recorded from Coleoptera order as occasional visitor. It was noticed that E. sativa attracted more insect pollinators than B. rapa which may be attributed to different amount and chemical properties of nectar, with number of pollen grains, and flower canopy of both crops. Further studies are needed to confirm the reasons for higher pollinator visitation to E. sativa than B. rapa through chemical analysis of nectar, amount of pollens, flower physiology and phenology of both crops.
Pakhtunkhwa is 61.6 thousand hectares with a production of 147.5 thousand tons and yield of 2103 kg ha -1 (MNFSR, 2019-20). The yield of rice per hectare in the province is lower than the country average yield and this may be due to various factors including limited experience of cultivation, environmental stress, improper management of insect pests and diseases etc. Insect pests are the major constraints in reducing the rice productivity, besides diseases and weeds Abstract | Rice stem borer (Scirpophaga incertulas) infest the plants from seedling to maturity, which is one of the key pests that infest the rice crop at regular intervals. It is pivotal to find out management strategies for this pest for higher production of rice. Research experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of different rice varieties and synthetic insecticides on the population density of rice stem borer. Experiments were conducted in randomized complete block design (RCBD) repeated three times. The results revealed that the minimum population density of dead hearts (3.50%) and white heads (7.08%) were recorded in Fakher Malakand variety, while the maximum population of dead hearts (7.89%) and white heads (13.7%) were observed in JP-5 variety. Yield analysis showed that maximum yield (2780 kg ha -1 ) was recorded in the Fakher Malakand variety. Data regarding the efficacy of different insecticides showed that maximum percent biological efficacy against rice stem borer (52.21%) was observed in Lambda-cyhalothrin, while minimum percent biological efficacy against rice stem borer (14.91) was recorded in Lufenuron. In case of the insecticides, minimum yield (1790 kg ha -1 ) was recorded in control plot, while maximum yield (1875 kg ha -1 ) was obtained from plots treated with Lambda-cyhalothrin. To achieve optimum production, our findings highlighted the importance of properly integrating resistant cultivars and chemical management techniques for rice stem borers.
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