Diversity and damage of weevil species on fruit crops in Punjab, India

Abstract

Surveys and surveillances were carried out during 2004 to 2022 to record the biodiversity of weevil species on the fruit crops in the Punjab state, India. A total of eight species of weevils viz., Arrhenodes sp., Deporaus marginatus (Pascoe), Hypolixus truncatulus (Fabricius), Mecopus hopei Rosenschoeld, Myllocerus undecimpustulatus Faust, Peltotrachelus cognatus Marshall, Rhynchaenus mangiferae Marshall and Xanthochelus major (Herbst) were observed to occur on seventeen fruit crops viz., kinnow mandarin, guava, mango, pear, litchi, ber, peach, plum, grapes, jamun, pomegranate, loquat, fig, bael or wood apple, phalsa, papaya and apple in different districts of Punjab. Highest number of species were observed in mango (5), followed by guava, ber, jamun and fig (2 each) while only one species was observed in kinnow mandarin, pear, litchi, peach, plum, grapes, pomegranate, loquat, bael, phalsa, papaya and apple. These weevils were observed to damage leaves, stem, bark, flowers and fruits. The damage caused by these weevils on different hosts ranged between 2-3 per cent for most species except, D. marginatus (10%) and R. mangiferae (8%). Further studies on their biology, life cycle, population dynamics and management are needed.