UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

Bottle gourd (genus Lagenaria, species siceraria) is one of valuable cucurbitaceous vegetables grown all over the world due to its nutritional and economic importance. But it is affected by several insect pests and diseases, resulting in considerable yield losses. The objective of this review is to provide a state-of-the art knowledge of the pocedures for bottle gourd pest monitoring, field screening, fruit damage assessment, rating system, antixenosis response as well as statistical correlation and regression analysis to obtain a deeper insight into the resistance mechanisms and yield loss prediction. The research incorporates real-time experimental data to assess the incidence of the pest and damage severity in bottle gourd range of crops.

Using field screening, laboratory analysis, and statistical modeling, the research evaluates the infestation patterns and plant resistance. Visual observation, pheromone trap and sticky trap were used for pest monitoring, which were used to identify major insect pests in bottle gourd production. Species and pear shape & genotype damage were assessed both according to weight and number to understand potential economic losses from disease and genotypes were graded according to a standardized system to serve to categorize genotypes according to their level of resistance. Antixenosis study was conducted to analyze the behavioral resistance of different bottle gourd varieties against the key pest. In addition, statistical association and regression models were used to assess the relationship between insect incidence, plant morphological traits and yield loss.

The results show that the cucurbit fruit fly (Bactrocera cucurbitae) is the most damaging pest, with infestation rates higher at certain flowering stage. Infested plants showed an average yield reduction of 25-40%, while severe damage occurred during the peak infestation period. Antixenosis traits such as repelling the insects from feeding and oviposition were highly significant (P a quarter 0.0001) in resistant genotypes. We found a strong negative correlation (r = -0.75) between trichome density and incidence of pests, implying that these morphological traits are key in determining natural pest resistance. The importance of pest damage in predicting yield loss was further underlined by a regression analysis approach (R² = 0.85); predictive modelling has the potential to improve pest management strategies.

The researchers stressed the importance of integrated pest management (IPM) practices, using genetic resistance, monitoring at early stages of the plants development and sustainable control methods to reduce economic losses. These results also indicate that genotypes with high levels of resistance and strong antixenosis mechanisms should be the primary focus of breeding programs targeting this pest. In particular, data-driven pest forecasting models could be utilized by farmers and researchers to apply targeted interventions that minimize chemical pesticides and promote sustainable yield.