Survey of Major Insect Pests, Natural Enemies and Diseases of Brinjal in Tribal Belt of Surat District in Gujarat, India

The survey was carried out to find seasonal abundance and impact of abiotic factors on major insect pests, their natural enemies and diseases in brinjal. The survey of brinjal fields were carried out at fortnight interval for the period of June to December during 2016 to 2022 in different villages of tribal belt of Surat district, Gujarat. The highest population of sucking pests viz., whitefly, aphid and leafhopper in brinjal was found during first fortnight of October, first fortnight of December and second fortnight of September, respectively. The highest fruit damage in brinjal by shoot and fruit borer was found during second fortnight of December. The highest population of natural enemies viz., lady bird beetle and Chrysoperla spp. in brinjal was found during second fortnight of September and November, respectively. Maximum incidence Fusarium wilt and little leaf diseases of brinjal were observed during mid-October to mid-December and December, respectively. The correlation of weather parameters with sucking pests viz., whitefly and aphid; Fusarium wilt and little leaf diseases of brinjal showed significant negative correlation with minimum temperature, morning and evening relative humidity and wind speed while significant positive correlation with sunshine hours. The population of whitefly and aphid; little leaf disease showed significant negative correlation with maximum temperature. The population of aphid; Fusarium wilt and little leaf diseases showed significant negative correlation with rainfall and rainy days. The little leaf disease of brinjal showed highly significant positive correlation with its vector i.e. leafhopper population. The population of lady bird beetle showed significant negative correlation with maximum temperature and wind speed.