Identification of the dominant species of Agrotis in Naghadeh sugar beet fields and determination of the number of its generations in the field

Subject Areas : Plant Pests

Samira Khodayari ¹ (Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh)
Fatemeh Haghi ² (Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran.)
Esmaeil Alizadeh ³ (West Azarbaijan Province, Center for Research and Education of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Urmia, Iran.)

Received: 2022-07-13 Accepted : 2022-07-13 Published : 2021-08-23

Keywords: Generation, Sugar beet, Dominant species, West Azarbaijan, Agrotis,

Abstract :

Cutworms (Agrotis spp.), are insects from order Lepidoptera and family Noctuidae which damage crops by feeding or cutting the stems of seedlings at or below the growing point. In this study, the Agrotis species in sugar beet fields were identified in Naghadeh city of West Azerbaijan province during 2020 using pheromone and light traps. Then the number of its generations in the field was determined. Three fields with 2 hectar space for each were selected in Southeastern and Northwestern of Naghadeh. Samples were collected weekly from pheromone and light traps and sent to the Research Center of Plant Protection of Iran for identification. Five Agrotis species were identified totally. Agrotis segetum, A. ipsilon (Hufnagel), A. spinifera Hubner., A. exclamationis L. and A. sp. near herzogi Rebel. A. segetum was the dominant species in all of the studied fields. Data showed that this pest had 3 generations during one crop season in the studied area. The first generation was showed up from the end of April and reached its peak in the second half of May. The next two generations of this pest were completed in late June and late July, respectively. The mean density of pest were as 16.8 eggs, 14.7 larvae and 11 pupae on 10 infected plants showed the highest peak during the second generation.