ABSTRACT:

Flea beetles are essential insect pests of most vegetable malvacean crops, posing a serious threat to their production and, as a result, lowering yields. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the host choice of f lea beetles on three malvacean crops grown in the 2015 cropping seasons in Yola and Ganye. The studies were set up in a Split Plot Design (SPD) with three malvacean crops (okra, roselle, and kenaf) as the main plot factor and five sub-plot treatments: no spray (negative control); physic nut; pawpaw leaf extract; onion bulb extract and cypermethrin) as the sub-plot treatments (positive control). The studies were set up to find out which of the two flea beetle species favored which host crop, as well as the influence of plant extracts on yield decrease induced by the flea beetle species on the three host crops. Data on the flea beetle population before and after spraying, crop damage estimations, and growth and yield metrics were collected. ANOVA was used to analyze the data, and the means were separated using the Students Neumann Keuls (SNK) test of significance. The results showed that okra had the highest population of both P. uniformis and N. dilecta in both locations. Okra had the greatest P. uniformis (12.47) and the least N. dilecta (8.67) at 6 WAS after sowing (WAS) in Yola, while roselle had the least P. uniformis (8.0), indicating okra is the most favoured host crop, followed by Roselle, and finally kenaf. In the okra, there was more damage to the leaves, flowers, and a percentage drop in yield of 62.2 percent in Yola and 43.37 percent in Ganye. Based on the findings of this study, it is suggested that Okra be employed as a trap crop for Flea beetles by intercropping it with other economically important malvacean crops like cotton.