EVALUATION OF RESISTANCE IN LOCAL CHICKPEA VARIETIES AGAINST THE PULSE BEETLE, CALLOSOBRUCHUS CHINENSIS L. (COLEOPTERA: BRUCHIDAE)

The present research on the response of pulse beetle, callosobruchus chinensis on five chickpea, (cicer arietinum l.) varieties kk-1, kk-2, kc-98, lawaghar and sheenghar were conducted under laboratory condition. two sets of experiment; no-choice test and free choice test were carried out in the complete randomized design (crd) with four replications. the results were evaluated on the basis of eggs laid/female, developmental period, total number of adults emerged, adult longevity of male and female, adult weight (mg), % adult emergence, percent grain damage and weight loss. results of no-choice test revealed that none of the cultivar was completely resistant to c. chinensis, however, their response varied significantly. taking weight loss as a standard parameter, cultivar lawaghar (4 % weight loss) was significantly least susceptible, kk-2 (28%) and sheenghar (31%) moderately susceptible while kc-98 (60%) and kk-1 (70%) were highly susceptible. the results of freechoice test also revealed that none of the cultivars was completely immune to the attack of c. chinensis. in free-choice test, variety lawaghar also received significantly less number of eggs by c. chinensis.