(2)

Identification, incidence, and management of the chafer beetle, Protaetia terrosa, on cluster beans was carried out in semi-arid Indian conditions. The P. terrosa was identified using morphological and molecular characters. The distinguishing morphometric characteristics of P. terrosa were viz., head (length: 2.21 mm; width: 2.94 mm), thorax (length: 4.95 mm; width: 6.87 mm), elytra (length: 10.08 mm; width: 8.68 mm), and other morphological features. For molecular identification, a gene fragment of 655 bp size encoding mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I enzyme was amplified, sequenced and submitted to NCBI (MW008478), and the barcode was generated as BIN Number BOLD: AEF1461. This is the first report of the partial mt Co1 gene sequence of P. terrosa, with a unique barcode as diagnostic tool. The BLAST P and phylogenetic analysis revealed highest sequence similarity of P. terrosa with P. cuprea, and P. fusca. The P. terrosa infestation results in wilting, drying and ultimately dying of cluster bean plants. The chafer beetle infested plants have a visible white portion (pith) of the stem with little or devoid of lateral roots. The study recorded up to 14.23% infestation by chafer beetles under natural unprotected conditions. The soil drenching with clothianidin 50% WDG @ 250 gm/ha resulted significant reduction in damage by P. terrosa, and could prevent up to 19.36% loss in yield. In nutshell, regular crop monitoring and adoption of suitable management practices are highly important to keep this pest under check.

来源平台：INDIAN JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY