Adoretus duvauceli Blanchard (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae): A new threat to ber plant (Ziziphus mauritiana) in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

The present study reports, the first record of Adoretus duvauceli Blanchard as a serious pest of ber, Ziziphus mauritiana Lamarck from India. Studies were conducted during the kharif season at Varanasi and Mirzapur districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh and observed that about 40 per cent of the plants and about 80-100 per cent leaves of each of the plants were damaged by this leaf feeder. Critical observations revealed that adults of A. duvauceli voraciously fed on the leaves of ber mostly during night time. In case of severe infestations, entire chlorophyll of the leaves were eaten, leaving only mid-ribs and veins. The infested leaves became skeletonized and the whole tree rendered leafless. Amongst the abiotic parameters, temperature, relative humidity, evaporation and wind velocity had direct influence (91%) on distribution and abundance of A. duvauceli on ber, Z. mauritiana. The detailed studies on morphology, taxonomy, seasonal incidence etc. of this sporadic pest have been discussed in the paper.