The Occurring Characteristics of Underground Insect and Pests in Tobacco Fields of Hubei Province

Underground insect and pests are the main tobacco pests during tobacco seedling stage. Because of the diverse tobacco species and planting environments in tobacco-planting areas of Hubei province, a systematic investigation on the tobacco underground insect and pests was carried out during April and August, 2011 for detecting the dominant species and their occurring pattern in Xianfeng, Wufeng, Baokang and Yunxi county of Hubei province. The results indicated that the population structure of underground pests in four tobacco areas of Hubei province was significantly different. In Enshi, wireworms were the dominant species and then grubs and mole crickets sub-dominated; In Xiangyang, cutworms, grubs and wireworms were often observed; In Yichang, cutworms and grubs predominated; In Shiyan, wireworms and cutworms occurred frequently. The damage caused by underground pests was more serious in Flue-cured tobacco, Maryland tobacco and Oriental tobacco than that in Burley tobacco and Sun-cured tobacco. The pest population during the tobacco seedling stage was also distinct from that at tobacco harvest time, when the density of grubs and wireworms increased greatly. The severity caused by underground pests was correlated with the altitude of tobacco field, and the underground insect pest had higher population density at 1200 m altitude tobacco fields.