Insect and mite pests infesting citrus in Punjab

The studies on the occurrence of insect and mite species showed that currently there are 27 insect and mite species on citrus under Punjab conditions. Prior to 1999, only 11 species were present but due to improvement in production technology or changes in climatic conditions, 16 more species were added to the existing list of this important crop, which showed about 145 per cent increase in pest problems since 1999. The crucial periods of pest activities are February-June and August-October. The categorization of pests showed that 8 species were very serious (>50% damage), 5 species were serious (15–25% damage), 5 species of low intensity (5–15% damage), 6 species were of very low intensity (<5% damage) and 3 species were in traces. The findings of study clearly indicated that fruit fly, aphids, mealy bugs, thrips, mites and termites are the emerging problems of citrus in the state.