Population Patterns of Aphis gossypii in Relation to Okra Cultivars

An experiment was conducted to study the population dynamics of Aphis gossypii (Glover) and its associated natural enemies across seven different okra varieties at the Tarnab Research Farm, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar, during 2018. The okra varieties included Sabz Parie, Spinless, Annie Oakley, Silver Queen, Chuko Chuko, Medison, and J. Orange. Data were collected at one-week intervals from the first week of June to the last week of July, with a focus on the mean percentage infestation of A. gossypii. The results revealed that the lowest mean percentage infestation of 2.25% was observed on the Chuko Chuko variety, while J. Orange exhibited the highest infestation, with a mean of 3.39%. The A. gossypii population showed an increase from the first to the fourth week, ranging from 2.85% to 3.68%, followed by a decrease from the fourth to the eighth week, from 3.68% to 2.42%. Additionally, Chuko Chuko yielded the highest at 8980 kg/ha, outperforming other varieties. The study concluded that Chuko Chuko exhibited both higher resistance to A. gossypii infestation and better yield compared to other okra varieties