Light trap as a monitoring device for Spodoptera litura (Fab.

) adult populations in soybean

M. Punithavalli1 and M. Balaji Rajkumar2
1Scientist, 2Scientist,

Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Soybean is a major Kharif crop in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra which contributes to about 82% of the total production from 84.4% of the total area under soybean in the country. Though the area is increased tremendously over the years, soybean production is adversely affected by various biotic stresses. The insect pests are major constraint in soybean production that
impacts the production in a significant way. Among the insect pests, the common cutworm Spodoptera

litura (Fab.) continues to be a serious threat to soybean production. There was a severe outbreak of S. litura in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra in which 24.64 lakh hectares were infested which constitute 40% of total yield and the monetary losses up to Rs1392 crores. The neonate larva gregariously feeds the chlorophyll and skeletonizes the leaves by scrapping. As the caterpillar matures, they vigorously feed and leave only midribs and stalks of leaves. They chew the soft pods or bore into the thick pod and feeds on grains. Considering various factors responsible for onset and spread of S. litura, it became necessary to monitor the pest continuously in order to avoid recurrences of pest outbreak in soybean. Light trap is one of the effective tools for management which exploits the phototropic behavior of the insect pests as it mass-traps both the sexes of insect pests and also substantially reduces the carryover population (Shrivastava et al. 1987). It is also used to determine seasonal patterns of insect pest density in the cropped areas. It also provides information related to insect distribution, abundance, flight patterns and helps to decide the timing of the application of chemical pesticides, biopesticides or the release of biocontrol agents. The experiment was carried out at Directorate of Soybean Research, Indore to monitor the Spodoptera litura populations through light traps during late June, Kharif 2009. A light trap consists of 240 volt mercury lamp was installed @ one per hectare. A plastic bag was placed inside the trap tied with rubber band A cotton swab impregnated with dichlorvos was kept at the bottom of the plastic bag to kill the captured moths. The captured moths were counted at weekly intervals of the cropping season. The observation of light trap catches of S. litura moths indicated that the earliest moth catch obtained

from late July and continued through early October. Although soybean plants are present from late June onward, S. litura moth catches were low until mid-August, and increased gradually through late August and increased rapidly through mid-September. The peak activity of moths was noticed during early and mid September. Then, the moth catches remained moderate until the end of September and thereafter males caught per week began to decrease to fewer or nil during the post soybean season. Light trap may be the potential device to indicate the onset of S. litura adults in soybean fields. References Shrivastava, S.K., B.C. Shukla, and A.S.R.A.S. Shastri. 1987. Effects of lunar cycle on light trap catches of Spodoptera litura Fabricius. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 57: 117119.