Population Dynamics of Species of Flea Beetle on Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. MOENCH) and its Impact on Production

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the population dynamics of species of flea beetle on Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) production in FCT Abuja. The experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, University of Abuja, Abuja. The treatments comprised of four different plant spacing of 50cm x 30cm, 50cm x 35cm, 50cm x 40cm and 50cm x 45cm. The two species of flea beetle encountered in the study (Monolepta goldingi and M. nigeriae) were recorded from 3 Weeks after Planting (WAP). The population of M. goldingi recorded was higher than M. nigeriae in the entire plot and throughout the duration of the experiment although the population of both remained high throughout the vegetative stage than the reproductive phase of growth of okra. Also, it was observed that the closely spaced plants had more pest infestation than wider spaced plants. The difference in the plant spacing has significance on the insect count and its population has significant reduction (P < 0.05) in fruit production, branching and Days to Flowering. The best fruit yield was obtained on the plot with plant spacing’s of 50cm x 40cm, which yielded 11.84 fruits.