Incidence and population dynamics of leaf hopper,Amrasca bigutulla bigutulla (Cicadellidae:Homoptera) on four varieties of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) crop in Multan,Pakistan

The leaf hopper,amarasca bigutulla bigutulla ishida is an important sucking pest of okra causing huge losses. the present study was aimed to study the incidence and population dynamics of amarasca bigutulla bigutulla on four okra (abelmoschus esculentus l.) varieties in southern punjab pakistan. the results revealed non significant difference in the mean population of a. bigutulla bigutulla on different okra varieties. however,maximum population was observed on green star and minimum population on pusa sawani. the leaf hopper population varies in different dates throughout the season with maximum population observed in the first week of july,2012. host plant susceptibility indices (hpsi,s) of various genotypes were also observed. hpsi,s of sabz pari (32%) was maximum toward leaf hopper followed by green star and arka anamika (25% each) and minimum in pusa sawani (18%). correlation with different environmental variables showed negative correlation with maximum temperature and positive significant correlation with relative humidity at morning 8 am. the study will be helpful in the management of jassid on okra under agro-climatic conditions of southern punjab. copyright 2015 zoological society of pakistan.