Informatics Publishing Limited

D. M. Firake ¹, K. C. Naga ², V. S. Raju Dantuluri ³, Y. S. Wagh ¹, P. Naveen Kumar ¹, K. V. Prasad ¹, P. Prasanth ⁴, S. Tadigiri ³, J. J. Rajappa ⁵, D. Vasanthakumar ⁶, R. S. Yadav ¹, K. S. Girish ¹, Sagar Pandit ⁷

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Directorate of Floricultural Research, Pune 411 036, IN
2 ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla 171 001, IN
3 ICAR-Directorate of Floricultural Research, Regional Station, Kadiyam 533 126, IN
4 Floricultural Research Station, AICRP on Floriculture, Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University, Hyderabad 500 030, IN
5 ICAR-Central Tobacco Research Institute, Research Station, Hunsur 571 105, IN
6 Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Centre, Pune 411 044, IN
7 Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research, Pune 411 008, IN

Abstract

Tuberose (Agave amica (Medikus) Thiede and Govaerts) is a hardy and economically important flower crop in India. Tuberose growers have been facing severe loss in flower yield due to the large-scale deformities and rotting of buds caused by midge fly attacks. Morphology and DNA barcoding have confirmed the identity of this midge species as Contarinia maculipennis Felt (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Maggot feeding causes deformation and rotting of the infested buds and imparts an ugly appearance to the tuberose florets. Midge fly infestation ranged from 5.67% to 88% from July to September 2022 in different tuberose-growing areas of Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in India. The bioeco­logy of this midge species and the nature of damage to tuberose were studied to develop eco-friendly manage­ment methods. This study offers novel insights into the nature and extent of midge damage to tuberose and how midge symptoms differ from tuberose melody symptoms caused by the foliar nematode.

Keywords

Bioecology, blossom midge, DNA barcoding, midge fly, morphology, tuberose buds

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