Role of insectivorous birds in the management of pigeonpea pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53550/jfl.v18i2.2396Keywords:
Acridotheres tristis, Cajanus cajan, Centropus sinensis, Coracias benghalensis, Dendrocitta vagabunda, Dicrurus adsimilis, Drongo, Helicoverpa armigera, Hirundo daurica, Hirundo rustica, Insectivorous birds, Merops orientalis, Passar, domesticus, Pigeonpea, Upapa epopsAbstract
Studies were conducted during 1997-98 and 1998-99 at the Agricultural Research Station, Gulbarga, Karnataka on the influence of predatory birds on the population dynamics of H. armigera in pigeonpea ecosystem. The most common insectivorous birds predating on H. armigera were the black drongo, Dicrurus adsimilis (Bechstein), the Indian roller, Coracias benghalensis (Linnaeus), small green bee eater, Merops orientalis (Latham), the common myna, Acridotheres tristis (Latham), the yellow eyed babbler, Chrysomma sinensis (Gmelin) and the house sparrow, Passar domesticus (Linnaeus). Among them, house sparrows outnumbered all the birds, followed by common myna, black drongo and small green bee eater. Evaluation of predatory distance of birds from perching place in the management of H. armigera revealed that the birds could able to search and pickup larvae in the range of upto two metre distance effectively. The gut contents of four important predatory bird species viz., black drongo, small green bee eater, house sparrow and common myna were analysed during peak incidence of H. armigera. The gut analysis indicated black drongo to be the most efficient predator, followed by house sparrow and common myna. The small green bee eater preferred dipterans, hymenopterans and odonatens causing reduction in natural enemy population.
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