Beekeeping in Himachal Pradesh is very primitive. Indigenous beekeeping with Apis cerana is an integral part of the social and cultural heritage of rural and tribal communities. Comparative morphological studies have revealed that Himachali bees are smaller than Kashmiri bees. Beekeeping with Apis mellifera is migratory and it helps in increasing the honey production through exploitation of different bee flora thereby providing opportunity for overcoming unfavorable climatic conditions as well as attack of local bee enemies. Comparative studies have revealed that A. mellifera bees were very prone to stinging and were easily distributed as compared to A. cerana which were less excitable and could be safely handled. Major bee enemies of the state include Thai sac brood, Nosema, Europeon Foul Brood, ectoparasitic mites, Wasps, birds and bear. Plectranthus is one of the major honey flow flora for the winter months in Himachal Pradesh.
The agro-climatic zones survey was conducted diversity and frequency of endemic entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) in Apple orchards in Rajgarh, western Himalayas. Isolated EPNs have been used as an active biocontrol agent against T. absoluta and S. frugiperda. The total survey of 42 locations apple orchards were collected from which 281 soil samples and tested 7 soil samples are positive for the presence of EPN. Native isolated strains morphologically and molecular identification of nematodes, insect and bacterial sequencing and characterisation of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 18S, 12S and 16S region was used to identify all nematode isolates, insects and bacterial strains upto species level (S. feltiae UHF-HR1, H. bacteriophora UHF-HR2; T. absoluta SN1, S. frugiperda SN2; X. bovienii R1, P. luminenscens R2). There have been used as an active biocontrol agent against T. absoluta and S. frugiperda. The bioassay of after 72 hours with different concentrations of 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 IJs/cm2, the data susceptibility of T. absoluta 4th larval and S. frugiperda 5th instar to infection with the nematode S. feltiae and H. bacteriophora mortality range 74.12 to 90.00 percentage mortalities. To assess the lethal concentration of entomopathogenic nematodes to insect larvae, a toxicity evaluation the LD50 and LD90 for S. feltiae and H. bacteriophora doses in final instar the best larvicidal activity was obtained during the 72-hour exposure period, The susceptibility of infection was found to be greater than 80%. The strains R1 and R2 bacterial isolates were bioassay experiments were X. bovienii and P. luminescens of treatment throughout the investigation, daily larval mortality ranged from 0.00 to 90.00 percent. Our analysis confirmed the steep inclination of S. frugiperda and T. absoluta. S. feltiae UHF-HR1 and H. bacteriophora UHF-HR2 & Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus were utilised, with 90 percent control over both entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacterial strains.
Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) an extremely destructive pest, causes large economic losses in numerous crops under favourable conditions. In the past few years, it has been seen by researchers and orchardists, feeding on apple fruits grown under high density plantation system under Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Development Project in North Himalayan regions ranging in 320.22’-330.12’N and 750.47’-790.04E with an extent of damage upto 10–15 per cent at various sites. Therefore, in order to determine its biotic potential on apple as a potential host, we studied the demographics of H. armigera on three apple varieties viz., Jeromine, Gale Gala and Red Velox at three fruit growth stages i.e. pea, walnut and mature stage with chickpea and chickpea based diet as control. The test insect completed its life cycle on apple and the duration of different developmental stages was almost equivalent to control, signifying it as potential pest in coming time. H. armigera was unable to survive beyond fifth instar in mature fruits stages, thereby indicating its preference for immature fruits. The population growth parameters were nearly identical; however, the highest values of finite rate of increase (λ) and intrinsic rate of increase (r) with minimum generation time (T) was recorded on insects reared on Gale Gala fruits at walnut stage (1.17, 0.15 and 36.59 days, respectively) which was found to be the most suitable host, while Red Velox was found to be the least preferable host at both pea and walnut stage. Overall, investigations on the biology of H. armigera revealed that apple is a preferred prospective host. If favourable environmental conditions exist, the insect may cause significant harm to high density apple fruit crops, necessitating its management in the future.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.