Pest insects and beneficial arthropods affecting chickpea grown in north-central Florida

Chickpea has potential to be used in crop rotations in Florida. It is grown commercially in the Middle East, Southern Europe, Africa, and South America. As an annual legume, it adds nitrogen to the soil and has harvestable pods used extensively for human consumption. Potential pests include beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, cowpea aphids, Aphis craccivora, corn earworm, He;icoverpa zea, and leaf miners, Liriomyza spp. The purpose of this study was to survey for potential pest arthropods in chickpea grown in Florida and for key natural enemies that may regulate pest outbreaks. In 2022 and 2023, wing traps baited with pheromones were used to monitor for S. exigua (2022 only) and H. zea adults. Yellow sticky traps were used to sample for aphids, Liriomyza spp., other pests, predators, and parasitoids. In situ counts were conducted bi-weekly. In 2023, leaf samples were collected bi-weekly and flower and pod samples were collected weekly once they were present in the field. Caterpillars reared from pod samples indicated that tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens, is a major pest of chickpeas in Florida. Aphids, Liriomyza spp., and thrips were commonly seen on yellow sticky traps. However, only adult thrips were found in flower samples, which indicate that chickpea flowers are not a reproductive host. Spiders, coccinellids, and staphylinids were the most common predators on traps. The most common parasitoid families included Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, Aphelinidae, Encyrtidae, Eulophidae, Mymaridae, Pteromalidae, Trichogrammatidae, and Platygastridae.