Tracking the Crop-Insect Calendar: Seasonal Abundance, Weather Associations and the Timing of Pests and Natural Enemies in Hanumangarh District, Rajasthan

Author(s)	Nitesh, Dr. Ravikant Sharma
Country	India
Abstract	In double-cropped irrigated agriculture, insect abundance follows both the weather and the crop calendar, and the relative timing of pests and their natural enemies decides when pest management can work. We analysed 24 fortnightly samples from six sites in Hanumangarh district, Rajasthan (18,742 individuals, 96 species) together with fortnightly weather records. Abundance was bimodal, with a principal peak of 271.7 individuals per site per fortnight in the second half of August and a lower peak of 206.3 in early February. Kharif held 49.7 percent of all individuals, Rabi 41.7 and Zaid 8.6. Pests peaked in rounds 10 and 22, pollinators in the pre-monsoon weeks and mid-winter, and the ratio of natural enemies to pests rose from 0.13 in Zaid to 0.57 in Rabi. Relative humidity was positively associated with pests, predators and parasitoids (Spearman ρ = 0.52 to 0.66), whereas maximum temperature was negatively associated with predators (ρ = −0.59). Natural enemies tracked pests with no detectable delay at fortnightly resolution (ρ = 0.90 at zero lag). We convert peak windows for six key pests into a scouting calendar and flag a conflict between the mustard aphid peak and the pollinator peak in late January.
Keywords	seasonal abundance; insect phenology; Zaid, Kharif and Rabi; natural enemies; integrated pest management; Hanumangarh.
Discipline	Other
Published In	Volume 4, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-10-06

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Advanced International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research