A SIMPLE HEAD CAGE TECHNIQUE FOR MONITORING SORGHUM MIDGE (DIPTERA, CECIDOMYIIDAE)

A head cage technique for monitoring sorghum midge populations was dev eloped at the ICRISAT Asia Centre, India. This technique is a variant of the type previously described for screening sorghum genotypes for m idge resistance. The technique was effective and efficient in collecti ng adult midges from flowering sorghum panicles under field conditions . Adult midge flies emerged over 2-3 weeks during the 1992/93 post-rai ny and 1-2 weeks during the 1993 rainy seasons. Sorghum midge activity (density) was higher during the rainy than during the post-rainy seas on.