Report on Hemipteran Pest Diversity on Apple Plantations (Malus domestica Borkh.) in Jammu and Kashmir State of India

Twelve species belonging to different families of Hemiptera viz. Aphididae (Eriosoma lanigerum Hausmann, Aphis pomi De Geer), Reduvidae (Reduvius delicatula Distant), Dictyopharidae (Putala rostrata Melichar), Diaspididae (Quadraspidiotus perniciosus Comstock), Pentatomidae (Nezara viridula (Linnaeus), Halyomorpha halys Stal, Halys dentatus Fabricius, Scutelleridae (Chrysocoris purpureus Westwood), Fulgoridae (Borysthers sp.), Jassidae (Empoasca sp.) and Membracidae (Oxyrachis rufescens Walker) have been reported infesting apple plantations from different apple growing districts viz. Bhaderwah, Batote, Kishtwar, Udhampur, Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu province of Jammu Province. Their distribution, host plants, diagnostic features and damage caused by these pests to apple plantations are also discussed in the present paper.