Diversity and Predatory Potential of Coccinellids in Vegetable Ecosystem

A field survey was conducted at vegetable ecosystems of Horticultural Experimental Farm, AAU, Jorhat to study the diversity of naturally occurring biological control agents during November 2022 to February 2023. Crops such as cabbage, radish, okra, pea, brinjal, chilli, mustard, spinach, brocolli, and roselle were grown in the field. Seven species of coccinellid predators (Cheilomenes sexmaculata, Propylea dissecta, Harmonia dimidiate, Coccinella transversalis, Micraspis univittata, C. septempunctata, H. octomaculata) were recorded from the above mentioned crops which are effective against several aphid species (Aphis gossypii Glover, A. craccivora Koch, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), Brevicoryne brassicae Linnaeus, etc.). Among them, feeding potential of coccinellids species viz., C. sexmaculata and C. transversalis against mustard aphid (Lipaphis erysimi) was studied under laboratory conditions. Results indicated that the voracity of C. transversalis was higher (61.00 ± 1.32/adult/24hr) compared to C.sexmaculata (50.70 ± 1.04/adult/24hr) on L. erysimi.