Preliminary study of insect pests of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) in Ogbomoso Agricultural Zone of Nigeria

A Field experiment was conducted in 2014 to determine insect pests associated with cucumber in Ogbomoso (Southern Guinea Savanna), Oyo-state Nigeria. Market More and Pointset cucumber varieties were used as treatments. Data were collected at three different phonological growth stages with damaged they caused. Data collections commenced at 2 weeks after planting (WAP) and were on weekly basis for six weeks. Four major insect pests observed were Phyllotreta cruciferae Fabricius, Diabrotical undecimpunctata Howardi Barber, Epilachna vigintiopunctata Fabricius and Monolepta spp Coquilletta on the two varieties observed. Except Epilachna, which belong to the family Coccinellidae others are from the family Chrymesolidae. Also, all the insects pest recorded the highest population at seedling and the population reduces at flowering to fruiting stage while Epilachna recorded the highest population at fruiting stage. The same trend was also observed for distribution across the age of the plant.