Pests and Diseases of Betelvine Piper Betle and Their Natural Enemies in India

Betelvine (Piper betle) is an important cash crop in India. The cultivation of this crop is seriously threatened by several pest insects, for example the homopterans Aleurocanthus rugosa, Dialeuroides pallida, Aphis gossypii and Tricentrus gibbosulus and the thysanopterans Membrothrips indicus, Zaniothrips ricini, Mymarothrips garuda and Aroidothrips longistylus and by the plant pathogenic fungi Curvularia lunata, Phytophthora parasitica, Colletotrichum piperis and Fusarium moniliforme. The pest and pathogen species are attacked by natural enemies belonging to the Coleoptera, Diptera, Heteroptera, Hymenoptera, Aranea and Acari. While occurrence of non-acarine enemies is confined to certain seasons, the acarine enemies are associated with the insect pests and fungal pathogens throughout the year. The predatory mites Walzia indiana and Proctolaelaps pygmaeus and the mycophagous mites Unguizetes clavatus and Acarus sp. seem to have potential to control the insect pests and fungal pathogens, respectively.