ABSTRACT

A field study was conducted in the Department of Crop science Teaching and Research Farm, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, to investigate the occurrence and population dynamics of insect pests on okra in relation to plant population. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with six treatments, (40x25x1, 40x25x2, 40x25x3, 50x25x1, 50x25x2, 50x25x3) with four replications. Insect sampling was done weekly, beginning from 2WAS to 9WAS. Data was square-root transformed and analyzed using Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA). Significant means were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Results of the study revealed four pest species in the family, Aphididae, Cicadellidae, Pseudococcidae and Chrysomelidae. Species in the family, Aphididae had the highest relative abundance (95.27%).  Plant spacing and number of plants per stand had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on insect pest abundance. However, insect pest abundance was significantly different (p < 0.001) across the WAS and highest at 8WAS (144.2). The various plant population tested in this study did not have any significant impact on the occurrence and abundance of insect pests of Okra, although the abundance increased with the age of the plants.