Impact of Abiotic Factors on Population Dynamics of Leaf Miner, Aproaerema modicella D. and Its Natural Enemies in Groundnut

Groundnut leaf miner (Aproaerema modicella. D.) is an important leaf feeding insect in groundnut that significantly reduces the pod yield up to 50 per cent. The growth and development of this insect pest is closely associated with the abiotic weather parameters prevailing in a particular location. Due to paucity of information available on the population dynamics of groundnut leaf miner with abiotic weather factors, a study was undertaken in Erode district of Tamil Nadu during Summer, 2023. Groundnut leaf miner damages were recorded through the fixed plots survey and the adult moth activities were monitored through pheromone traps at weekly intervals. From this study it was found that, the leaf miner incidences were observed from 30 days after sowing. The highest mean leaf miner mean damage (17.84%), pheromone adult catches (58.38 nos./5 traps), coccinellid beetle population (4.70 nos./10 plants) and spider population (5.17 nos./10 plants) were observed during 9th SMW. Whereas, the rove beetle population was maximum (4.62 nos./10 plants) during 10th SMW. The correlation study revealed that the maximum temperature had positive correlation and rainfall had negative correlation with the populations of groundnut leaf miner and its natural enemies. The multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the weather parameters together had 66.00 to 95.00 per cent influence on the groundnut leaf miner and its natural enemy population. The present study clearly indicated that, the population of groundnut leaf miner and its damage levels were closely related to the abiotic weather parameters prevailed in the study area during entire crop duration. Better understanding of the weather factors resulted in better leaf miner management and more net profit for the groundnut growers.