Field studies on pheromone trap catches of Helicoverpa armigera Hubn.: I. monitoring seasonal abundance and larval infestation on chickpea and the effect of climate on trap catches

The monitoring of the male Helicoverpa (Heliothis) annigera Hubner was carried out from]anuary 1986 to May 1989 at the IARI Regional Station, Kamal (Haryana), using sex pheromone baited traps. Maximum activity wa9 recorded during the spring! summer season (6th to 28th std. week) while a minor peak activity was also observed in autumn (42nd to 50th std. week). Pattern of trap catches indicated occurence of 4 to 5 generations in a year. Moth catches in pheromone traps were found to be positively correlated with the larval counts of H. annigera on chickpea made after 1, 2 and 3 weeks of trap catches. of various weather parameters, mean air temperature and relative humidity significantly influenced the moth catches. Average air temperature of 13.2°C or a relative humidity of 80.3% were required to get atleast one catch of moth in a week