Insect pest infestation on Gmelina arborea Roxb. in different agroclimatic zones of Jharkhand, India

The fast growing and multipurpose timber species G. arborea has problem of multiple insect pest attack in India. To understand the diversity of insect pest infestation abundance on Gmelina arborea, the data was collected on insect pest infestation (%) in three agro-climatic zones (Zone IV, V and VI) of Jharkhand province of India over a period of 3 years. Results shows that the plants were infested with total twenty insect pests species, out of these ten insect pest were recorded as new for G. arborea. Various diversity and similarity indices were calculated to explore the relationship of insect pest infestation among zones. It was found that Zone V have the maximum species infestation diversity followed by the zones IV and VI, whereas, zones IV and V were most similar and zone VI was differ from others. Duncan's multiple range test determined that Phyllocnistis amydropa was the most abundant species for G. arborea. Additionally, ten insect pests viz. Maladera sp., Hyperops coromandelensis, Lobotrachelus sp., Apion sp., Ectropis bhurmitra, Belippa lalean, Pagyda sp., Phromnia marginella, and Homeocerus inornatus, Megalurothrips peculiaris were found to be as new insect pest records, infesting to G. arborea first time. The study may helpful to understand the expending range of insect pest fauna of G. arborea in the country and framing insect pest management policy more effectively.