Helicoverpa armigera Hbn. (lepidoptera: noctuidae) a pest of agricultural crops in Eastern Romania

Pintilie, Paula Lucelia; Amarghioalei, Roxana Georgiana; Trotuș, Elena; Buburuz, Andreea Alexandra; Isticioaia, Simona Florina; Leonte, Alexandra; Pintilie, Andreea Sabina; Popa, Lorena Diana

Helicoverpa armigera Hbn. (lepidoptera: noctuidae) a pest of agricultural crops in Eastern Romania

2024

The fruiting caterpillar (Helicoverpa armigera Hbn.) is a polyphagous species that attacks agricultural (maize, chickpea, rapeseed, hemp, sorghum, millet, soybean) and horticultural (tomato, pepper, onion) crops. The aim of this work was to study the dynamics of the insect's flight and to understand the role of climatic conditions in the distribution of the species in the area of Moldova (Romania). The flight of the species was monitored from 1994 to 2023 using the light trap, and the interval was di-vided into five-year steps for ease of interpretation of the results. Analyzing the recorded catches, we found that the flight of the species was sporadic in the first 20 years, between two moths (1999-2003) and 38 moths (2004-2008), and intensified in the last 10 years, when the catches totaled 544 moths (2014-2018) and 4520 moths (2019-2023). The warm and very warm years, which had weights of 23.3% and 10%, recorded cat-ches of 1574 moths and 3247 moths, which represented 30.8% and 63.5% of the total catches compared to normal years which had a weight of 63.3%, and the catches totaled 296 moths. The dry years, which had a we-ight of 10.0%, are the most favorable for the flight of the insect, with 2665 specimens being captured, which represents 52.1% of the total compared to normal years which had a weight of 40% and in which 430 moths were registered. The species H. armigera Hbn. can become a dangerous pest of agricultural crops in the Eastern part of Romania.

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