Pigeonpea Pest Dynamics in a Changing Climate Scenario

Pigeonpea is an important grain legume grown in Southeast Asian countries and tropical regions worldwide. Apart from contributing to nutritional security, it is an important crop that restores the soil health of barren land and supports many resource-poor farmers in India. Over the past four decades, the insect-pest scenario has widely changed. Previously, only the pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner), was considered a major insect pest, but now it is accompanied by many other species such as Maruca vitrata , Melanagromyza obtusa , Lampides boeticus , Euchrysops cnejus , Exelastis atomosa , and Etiella zinckenella . Further, pod bug complex, Clavigralla gibbosa , C. scutellaris , Riptortus pedestris , R. linearis , and Nezara viridula , are emerging as major economic pests, which were previously considered as minor. In the present chapter, the possible reasons for variation in incidence and population abundance in four different agro-ecological regions in India are explained elaborately along with their abiotic factors. The variations in damage symptoms of these insect pests and their damaging stages have been discussed briefly. The possible strategies, like the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning for real-time monitoring and prediction of pests and natural enemies’ abundance have been presented herein. Further, role of biological control and host plant resistance by prebreeding for managing these insect pests have also been portrayed well in this chapter.