Seasonal Correlation in Prevalence of Termite on Wheat Crop and Weather Parameters

Abstract

The field experiment were conducted at instructional farm, S.K.N. College of Agriculture, Jobner during Rabi, 2021-22 and 2022-23 to know the seasonal incidence of termite in wheat and their relation to weather parameters. The incidence of the termite in wheat field was observed throughout the crop season however, the maximum population of termite i.e. 88.20 and 98.68 per stick was recorded in the second week of March and last week of February during Rabi, 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively. The infestation of termite in wheat crop was recorded from seedling stage (50th SMW) to till maturity stage (10th SMW) which was ranged from 2.78 to 27.10 and 3.67 to 28.32 per cent plant damage during both the years of study. The termite population per stick and per cent plant damage by termite had significant positive correlation with maximum and minimum temperatures and evaporation during both the years while, with bright sunshine hours only during first year and non-significant correlation during second year. Whereas, with the morning and evening relative humidity it had significant negative correlation during both the years. The multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis explained that alone evaporation accounted about 84.60 and 92.70 per cent variation in termite population and 89.00 and 89.30 per cent variation in per cent plant damage by termite during both the years.