Indian Journal of Entomology Online published Ref. No. e24463 DoI. No.: 10.55446/IJE.2024.2463 SEASONAL DYNAMICS OF MAJOR INSECT PESTS OF CUCUMBER Pratiksha DwiveDi 1 , rajnish kumar 1 , Buts kumar Gourav 1 , ajeet kumar sinGh 1 anD akhileshwar vishwakarma 2, * 1 Department of Entomology, Baba Raghav Das Post Graduate College, Deoria 274001, Uttar Pradesh, India 2 Division of Entomology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India *Email: iakrdeos@gmail.com (corresponding author): ORCID ID 0009-0000-5841-8272 ABSTRACT To monitor the seasonal dynamics of insect pests on cucumber, the incidence of pests viz., Bemisia tabaci, Amrasca biguttula biguttula and Aulacophora foveicollis were recorded on a weekly basis, along with that of Bactrocera cucurbitae through a pheromone trap. The results revealed that the incidence of B. tabaci and A. foveicollis initiated during the 34 th SMW and A. biguttula biguttula during the 35 th SMW, whereas the appearance of B. cucurbitae occurred during the 31 st SMW. The peak incidence of B. tabaci, A. biguttula biguttula and A. foveicollis was observed during the 39 th SMW, while the peak of B. cucurbitae was during the 31 st SMW. All the weather parameters considered (minimum temperature, maximum temperature, minimum and maximum relative humidity) were more or less infuencing the incidence. The regression model developed individually for each insect showed that all the weather parameters infuence the incidence to an extent of 18, 35, 53 and 74% for B. tabaci, A. biguttula biguttula, A. foveicollis and B. cucurbitae, respectively. Key words: Insects, cucumber, weather parameters, correlation, regression, Uttar Pradesh, Bemisia tabaci, Amrasca biguttula biguttula, Aulacophora foveicollis, Bactrocera cucurbitae Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a popular vegetable- cum-salad crop, and it is attacked by a number of insect pests from the seedling stage to harvest. The signifcant pests of cucumber included red pumpkin beetle (Raphidopalpa foveicollis Lucas), epilachna beetle (Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata F), fea beetle (Altica spp.), jassids (Empoasca kerri and Amrasca biguttula biguttula Ishida), whitefy (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius), aphids (Aphis gossypii Glover), thrips (Thrips tabaci Lindner) and melon fruit fy, Bactrocera cucumberae Coquillett (Mahato, 2017). Basic information on relative occurrence and population dynamics is necessary before deciding the IPM strategy. These studies are justifable to study the population fuctuation of B. cucurbitae male round the year through the use of attractants and infuence abiotic parameters on its capture for considering agro ecological conditions. For the success of local area management of cucumber insect pests, the knowledge of its population dynamics and relationship with prevailing weather conditions are essential prerequisites. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was conducted during kharif 2022 at the Agricultural Research Farm, Baba Raghav Das Post Graduate College, Deoria, Uttar Pradesh (26 o 6’- 26 o 48’ N, 83 o 29’-84 o 11’E). The seeds of the cucumber variety ‘Kalyanpur Hara’ were frst sown in seedling trays and then transplanted to the feld with a spacing of 50x 30 cm. Observation on B. tabaci and A. biguttula biguttula were recorded from three leaves (top, middle and bottom) and for A. foveicollis, it was recorded by simple visual inspection from randomly selected ten plants from a whole experimental plot under which the leaves were carefully examined for the presence of nymphs and adults during the time of observation. The incidence of male adult B. cucurbitae was monitored through a pheromone trap (cue lure) installed 50 cm above the ground level. Meteorological parameters like temperature (minimum and maximum), relative humidity and rainfall were recorded daily and converted into weekly mean values against standard meteorological weeks (SMW). Correlation and multiple regression models were worked out to understand the impact of weather parameters on insect pests. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results revealed that the incidence of B. tabaci started from the 4 th week of August (34 th SMW- 2.5/ 3 leaves and retained in the feld until harvesting; increased in subsequent weeks and reached its peak (15.08/ 3 leaves) in the 4 th week of September (39 th