author(s)
Navendu Nair and Prasenjit Pal

abstract
Zeugodacus cucurbitae is one of the most destructive Fruit fly pests which cause extensive damage to cucurbitaceous crops. The present study of two years duration was carried out in cucurbit ecosystem in Tripura to investigate the seasonal incidence of Z. cucurbitae in relation to abiotic factors using Para- pheromone lure (cue-lure) baited traps. The population of male fruit flies showed almost similar pattern of population fluctuation through out the study period. Moderate to high population was recorded from February to October and during the cooler months i.e. from November to January the adult activity was low (5-16 flies/trap/week). The numbers of fruit flies captured in cue lure baited traps correlated positively with temperature, relative humidity and rainfall. Maximum temperature, minimum temperature and rainfall have significant influence on Z. cucurbitae population.