Field Screening of Black Gram Genotypes for Resistance against the Spotted Pod Borer, Maruca vitrata (Fabricius) under Southern Telangana Conditions, India

Black gram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) is India's third most important pulse crop. Throughout its growth, the crop is vulnerable to various insect pests from sowing to harvest and during post-harvest. In Telangana, farmers are experiencing significant yield losses due to lepidopteran pests that feed on flowers and pods, particularly the spotted pod borer. Larvae feed continuously within webbed masses of flowers and pods. The present investigation was conducted during Rabi, 2023 at the Student Farm, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, to identify resistant black gram genotypes against spotted pod borer. A total of 28 black gram genotypes were screened under field conditions for spotted pod borer resistance, resulting in the identification of two resistant genotypes with a rating of 3, ten moderately resistant with a rating of 4, ten moderately susceptible with a rating of 7 and five susceptible with a rating of 8, based on a pest resistance per cent. The results also revealed that the genotypes GBG-1 and PU-31 showed the lowest mean number of larvae per plant (2.21 and 2.31, respectively) and lowest pod damage per cent (3.98 and 4.07%, respectively) and were categorized as resistant (R).