A Pilot Survey for Pest Damage in Chickpeas in Jordan and Syria

A survey of the damage caused to chickpea [Cicer arietinum] in Syria and Jordan was carried out in May 1983. Damage caused by Liriomyza cicerina was greatest in northern Syria. Larval populations of Heliothis spp. were low, generally averaging less than 1 larva/plant. Pod damage caused by Heliothis was greater in southern Syria and northern Jordan than in the other regions; the greatest pod damage (32%) was observed in a crop in southern Syria. The pterophorid Marasmarcha ehrenbergiana was common in several locations in southern Syria and Jordan and at 1 location in northern Syria. At some locations in Jordan, a black aphid (probably Aphis craccivora) was recorded together with a low incidence of stunt disease, transmitted by the aphid. None of the 6 crops studied in Jordan received any insecticidal treatment, while 6 of the 13 crops in Syria were protected with insecticides, most commonly by a cheap dust formulation of DDT and HC