Effect of ground storey crop on stone weevil, Abeus himalayanus Voss (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) incidence in ber

Abstract

Experiment was conducted to study the effect of ground storey intercropping of radish, mustard, coriander, marigold, and barley on stone weevil incidence with three different spacing viz., 16 x 4 m, 8 x 8 m and 6 x 6 m intervals. Stone weevil incidence was high in all five intercrop combinations than sole crop, irrespective of spacing environments. Maximum of 32.82% fruit damage noticed in ber + radish combination at spacing 6 x 6 m followed by ber + mustard (26.96%). Sole ber registered about 7.21 to 7.42% infestation. Among five combinations, ber + barley were better model in reducing weevil infestation with damage of 10.33-10.51%. Infestation of stone weevil was high (18.30%) with 6 x 6 m spacing and low (9.24%) with 16 x 4 m spacing. Results revealed that, irrespective of spacing, planting ground storey crop in ber-based cropping system could increase the infestation of fruit weevil.