Pest insects and beneficial arthropods affecting chickpea grown in North-central Florida

Chickpea has potential to be used in crop rotations in Florida. It is grown commercially in the Middle East, Southern Europe, Africa, and South America. As an annual legume, it adds nitrogen to the soil and has harvestable pods used extensively for human consumption. However, the pest complex in Florida is unknown. Common chickpea pests in its Old-World range include beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, chickpea leafminer, Liriomyza cicerina, cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora, and pod borers, Helicoverpa armigera. While S. exigua and A. craccivora are common in Florida, L. cicerina and H. armigera are not found in North America. However, the corn earworm, H. zea, may attack chickpea pods and there are three other species of Liriomyza found in Florida. The purpose of this study was to survey for potential pest arthropods in chickpea grown in Florida and for key natural enemies that may regulate pest outbreaks. Wing traps baited with pheromones were used to monitor for S. exigua and H. zea adults. Yellow sticky traps were used to sample for aphids, Liriomyza spp., other pests, predators, and parasitoids. In situ counts were conducted bi-weekly. The presence of adults in traps and exit holes in pods indicate that H. zea is a pest of chickpeas in Florida. Aphids, Liriomyza spp., and thrips were commonly seen on yellow sticky traps. Spiders, coccinellids, and staphylinids were the most common predators on traps. The most common parasitoid families included Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, Aphelinidae, Encyrtidae, Eulophidae, Mymaridae, Pteromalidae, Trichogrammatidae, and Platygastridae.