Temporal patterns of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) population on selected citrus varieties in response to weather variables in Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Zeeshan Javed, Muhammad Asrar*, Syed Makhdoom Hussain, Azhar Rasul

Citrus Greening (CG), also called Huanglongbing (HLB), is an invasive bacterial infection of citrus crops, caused by Diaphorina citri, or citrus psyllid. This bacterium is a major threat to productivity as well as export of citrus crops. In the current research, the population dynamics of D. citri was surveyed on Mosambi, Feutrell and Kinnow orchards of district Faisalabad from June 2023 to 2024. In addition, different abiotic factors i.e. temperature, rainfall, humidity, sunshine, and evaporation rates were assessed to investigate their relation with the distribution of D. citri. The month of September and October were found to be the most active time period of D. citri growth, while, their lowest population was witnessed from the month of December till March. The population of D. citri was maximum when abiotic factors, i.e. 21.54°C-34.32°C temperature, 57.42°C-82.57% relative humidity, 7.57 hours sunlight duration, 1.90 mm evaporation, and no rainfall were recorded. The population of D. citri was negatively correlated with humidity and rainfall; however, temperature, sunshine, and evaporation rates were observed to be positively correlated. These findings will be helpful for D. citri pest management in district Faisalabad.