Insect Pests of Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamarck) and their Management

The ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamark) also called as desert apple, jujube, Chinee apple, Badari (Sanskrit), Kul or Boroi, Ber (Hindi), Dongs, Boroi, Bor, Beri, Indian plum and Permseret (Anguilla) is a tropical fruit tree species, belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. The crop is gaining popularity among the growers because of its adaptability to adverse climatic condition and good returns. However, the avoidable loss is more due to insect pests and diseases. The introduction of improved varieties and irrigation leads unpredictable change in insect pest dynamics in the ber eco-system. In India, more than 130 species of insect pests found to be infested on ber and very few are attained the pest status. However, the pests such as fruit fly (Carpomyia vesuviana Costa), chafer beetle (Holotrichia consanguinea Blanch) and bark eating caterpillars (Indarbela tetraonis Moore; Indarbela quadrinotata Walker), ber butterfly (Tarucus theophrastus Fabricius) and stone weevil (Aubeus himalayanus Voss) are the major pests of ber in India which causing the significant yield loss