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Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.] and citron watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides (L.H. Bailey) Mansf. ex Greb.) are amongst the widely grown yet under-researched cucurbits genetic resources in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Fresh immature leaves, fruit and seed are used for food and medicinal purposes in the region. Furthermore, both species are used as rootstock and donors of novel genes for commercial production and breeding of sweet dessert watermelon cultivars. Despite their economic value and contribution to food and nutrition security in the region, bottle gourd and citron watermelon genetic resources remain under-utilized and largely un-explored for commercial product development. The objective of this review was to document the unique values of bottle gourd and citron watermelon for genetic improvement and development of value-added food and non-food products, and to highlight regional and global efforts on conservation, production, processing, commercialization and various enterprise development of these important indigenous species. The review discussed on the value of both crops as a rootstock to improve fruit yield and quality of cultivated watermelon. This is followed by important summaries on phenotypic and genetic variation of bottle gourd and citron watermelon genetic resources and implications for new cultivar design. Finally, the review highlighted value-added non-food and food-based products developed based on indigenous knowledge systems in SSA and availability and access to genetic resources of bottle gourd and citron watermelon for breeding, product design and deployment. more...

Bottle gourd is an important cucurbitaceous crop. The impact of 14 species from eight fungal genera on bottle gourd seeds was studied through in vitro tests. Bottle gourd seeds were inoculated with each isolate separately and subjected to various germination tests. Maximum germination inhibition was upto 69.3% due to Fusarium proliferatum. Inoculation of seeds with F. proliferatum significantly reduced the germination speed index to 2.69. The seedling vigour index I for seeds inoculated with F. proliferatum and F. incarnation-equiseti (species complex) was 860 and 861, respectively, significantly different from that of non-inoculated seeds having a vigour index of 1791. The seedling vigour index II of seeds inoculated with F. proliferatum was 1818, significantly lower than the control (4631), indicating that the F. proliferatum isolate was highly virulent among all the isolates. Amongst seven plant protectants evaluated for their efficacy as seed dressers against F. proliferatum, propioconazole (25% EC), copper oxychloride (50% WP) and Mancozeb (75% WP) were effective in reducing infection. Germination percentage was highest for seeds treated with the bioagent Trichoderma harzianum 1% WP. more...

Context: Psychosis is a mental disorder, which is characterized as the reducing association with certainty and conviction. Around 1-2% of the world's population suffers from psychosis. The people affected by psychosis have hallucinations, delusions, forgetfulness, abolition, and anhedonia. Currently existing most of the anti- psychotic medications express the adverse drug reactions. Thus for the management of psychosis, satisfactory and adequate remedies are not available. Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley (LS) (Cucurbitaceae) fruits, popularly known as “bottle gourd” (English) and “Lauki” (Hindi), exhibit numerous intrinsic therapeutic properties and actions. However limited scientific investigations have been performed to determine the neuroprotective potential of LS fruits. With this background, the present study was intended to investigate LS fruits for the assessment of anti-psychotic activity. Aims and Objectives: The rationale of this study was to evaluate the anti-psychotic activity of the phytocompound rich fractions of the methanolic extract of LS i.e., chloroform fraction of the methanolic extract (CFME), and acetone fraction of the methanolic extract (AFME) by using experimental models of cataleptic and stereotypic behavior in Swiss Albino mice. Materials and Methods: Haloperidol-induced catalepsy and apomorphine-induced stereotypy were the experimental screening tests performed for the assessment of anti-psychotic activity of the phytocompound rich fractions of methanolic extract of LS fruits at the doses of 100, 200, and 400mg/kg, p.o. in mice. Results: CFME and AFME, 100-400 mg/kg, significantly reduced cataleptic score and stereotypic behavior in mice, in dose-dependent manner. At doses of 200 and 400mg/ kg, AFME (P more...

Symptoms such as phyllody, reduced size of leaves and shortened internode length were observed in bitter gourd, while phyllody symptoms were recorded in bottle gourd crops cultivated in fields at Pune, Maharashtra, India. Symptomatic leaf petiole samples of both the crops were analysed for phytoplasma association by nested PCR which yielded ~1.2 kb amplicons using universal primers specific to phytoplasmas. BLASTn analysis of the amplicons revealed that the consensus sequences shared 99–100% identity with phytoplasmas belonging to 16SrVI group, allowing their identification as a ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii’ -related strain. Virtual restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of 16SrRNA encoding sequences classified the phytoplasmas into the 16SrVI-D subgroup. This is the first record of ‘clover proliferation’ phytoplasma subgroup D associated with bitter gourd and bottle gourd worldwide. more...

The edible seeds of bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.] are rich in oils, proteins and minerals of high nutritional quality. They are highly prized in pan tropical regions where they constitute valuable resources for food and nutrition security. In this study, near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) was combined with chemometrics to assess the variability of seed chemical content of African cultivars for the selection of nutritional traits. Six hundred seeds of four accessions belonging to two cultivars were collected from the Ivory Coast (West Africa) and analysed. The NIR-HSI spectra collected on whole seeds in the 1100-2400 nm range revealed that the main absorption bands of the seed chemical content were associated with water, lipids and proteins. The absorbance values between seeds of the same accession in these spectral regions varied up to 1.8 folds. Among the two chemometric tools used, principal component analysis (PCA) did not separate the accessions while Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) discriminated the accessions with 87.33 % to 94.67 %, and the cultivars with 90 % to 92 % correct classification. Seed oils from bottle gourd are for instance rich in linoleic acid which is an essential fatty acid for human health. The non-destructive and qualitative determination of the content of single seeds was demonstrated in the study and provides the opportunity to select superior seeds for the improvement of key nutritional traits in bottle gourd. Lagenaria siceraria, near-infrared hyperspectral imaging, seed chemical content, PCA, PLS-DA, nutrition security more...

Cucurbits include the major vegetables group cultivated widely in India during summer and rainy seasons. Out of different cucurbitaceous crops grown, bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) occupies a highest place in human diet but prevalence of various mycoflora acts as a major limiting factor in deteriorating the crop qualitatively as well as quantitatively. In the present study, mycoflora associated with seeds and fruits of bottle gourd was isolated using different methods and characterized on the basis of colony colour, type of spore, spore size and spore shape. The identity was further confirmed through microbial identification services of CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International). The isolated fungal flora was enumerated on the basis of per cent isolation frequency of individual mycoflora. A total of fourteen fungal species belonging to eight genera were isolated with prevalence of Fusarium proliferatum as external as well as internal seed borne and Talaromyces pinophilus as external seed borne mycoflora. Amongst three methods used for seed mycoflora isolation, moist blotter paper method was found to be the best followed by deep freezing and agar plate methods, respectively. more...

The present investigation was carried out at the Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellayani, during 2019-2020 to study the performance of bottle gourd genotypes. Among the genotypes, the BG-3 recorded the lower most node to fruit production (13.7) and highest fruit set per cent (43.4%). BG-2 was earliest to first fruit harvest (57.8 days). IC 371745 recorded longer fruit length (68.8 cm) which was at par with IC 538142 (62.2 cm). Genotype IC417704 recorded maximum fruit diameter and flesh thickness (15.97 cm and 12.56 cm). Genotype IC 331101 recorded the lowest rind thickness (1.69 mm) and IC 536593 recorded the highest fruit weight (2.41 kg). Tvpm Local recorded highest number of fruits per vine (6) followed by Pant Lauki-4 (4.3). The highest fruit yield was recoeded in Tvpm Local (43.98 t ha-1) with crop duration of 129.4 days. The highest TSS and ascorbic acid content were noted in the BG-3 (2.5°B) and IC398545 (12.0 mg 100-1 g), respectively. Based on the mean yield performance of the genotypes and selection index score IC 536593, Tvpm Local and Pant lauki-4 were best performing genotypes. more...

The experiment was conducted during Kharif season 2018 at Horticulture Research Centre, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology; Modipuram, Meerut (U.P.) assess the genetic diversity among fifteen genotypes of bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl.]. The genetic diversity analysis according to that the formation of five clusters suggesting the presence of wide genetic diversity. The clustering pattern showed that geographical diversity wasn't related to genetic diversity. The analysis of % contribution of assorted characters toward the expression of total genetic divergence showed that the Days to 50% flowering (14.48%) followed Days of fruit set (12.95%), Vine length (m) (11.67%), Number of fruits per plant (10.93%), Number of the primary branches (10.37%), Days to first fruit harvest (10.16%), Average fruit weight (g) (9.44%), Fruit diameter (cm) (6.63%) contributed maximum towards total genetic divergence. Based on the maximum genetic distance. It is advisable to attempt a crossing of the genotype from cluster II (GP-7) with the genotype of cluster I (GP-5), cluster IV (GP-2) and cluster III (GP-1), which may cause to the generation of a broad spectrum of favorable genetic variability for yield improvement in bottle gourd. more...

This present experiment was conducted in a Seed Testing laboratory, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding SHUATS, Allahabad, UP during 2021 with bottle gourd, in order to standardize the best method of invigoration of priming specific to bottle gourd. method of priming viz., halopriming were evaluated by screening a different range of durations and chemical concentrations viz., T0 – Unprimed seeds (control), T₁ - 50 ppm KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate) for 12 hrs, T₂ - 50 ppm KNO3 for 18 hrs, T₃-100 ppm KNO3 for 12 hrs, T₄- 100 ppm KNO3 for 18 hrs, T₅-125 ppm KNO3 for 12 hrs, T₆- 125 ppm KNO3 for 18 hrs. Treated seeds were placed in between germination paper and in sand at control condition where data was subjected to factorial experiment laid out in completely randomised design (CRD). In which it was found that 6th treatment 125 ppm KNO3 for 18 hrs., has the significant result as compared to all the treatments with the control, the highest germination %, seedling length, weight and vigor index I & II. This study showed that Seed priming with KNO3 found to increase the seed quality parameters. In the present study proved market price- effective and most economical method. This study helps to improve the quality and performance of seeds with the help of seed priming treatments which have effect on market price and economic, non-toxic, eco-friendly sources. more...

An investigation was carried out to study the performance of 28 hybrids of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria mol. stand) through diallel mating design excluding reciprocals. Observations were recorded on the traits, viz., number of primary branches per vine, days to 50% flowering, node number at which first female flower appears, days to initiation of first female flower, number of fruits per vine, days to first fruit harvest, fruit weight, fruit size, hundred seed weight, flesh thickness, vine length and fruit yield per vine besides quality traits such as moisture content and TSS content in the fruit. Among the 28 hybrids of bottle gourd studied, thecross ‘PSPL X Pusa Naveen excelled in yield per vine, followed by the crosses ‘DBG-5XPusa Naveen. Thus, first generation hybrids can be well-utilized for exploiting hybrid vigour to achieve improved quality. more...

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) causes serious damage to cucurbit crops worldwide and can be spread by aphids, by mechanical injury, and in seeds. With the popularization of cucurbit grafting, the use of susceptible rootstock has increased the risk of ZYMV infection in cucurbit crops. In China, the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is a widely used rootstock in grafted watermelon production. However, few resistant bottle gourds are available commercially. This study developed bottle gourd lines resistant to ZYMV using ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis. A new mutated bottle gourd population (M1) was generated by treating seeds with EMS. Diverse phenotypes were observed in the seedlings, flowers, and fruit of M2 plants, some of which are of potential commercial interest, such as dwarfing and different fruit shapes. Based on the M2 phenotypes, 106 M3 lines were selected and screened for resistance to ZYMV by mechanical inoculation and agroinfiltration. Nine M3 lines were resistant to ZYMV during three tests. One inbred M4 line (177-8) was developed and showed stable resistance and no virus when tested using a double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction. These resistant lines are promising materials for developing watermelon rootstock and exploring resistance genes as new ZYMV-resistant resources. EMS induction could be a practical strategy for creating resistant cucurbit crops. more...

An experiment was carried out to analyze genetic variability for yield and its contributing characters in 35 bottle gourd genotypes in randomized block design with three replications to assess the nature and magnitude of association among yield and its contributing traits in bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria). Results indicated that PCV and GCV were high (more than 20%), sex ratio for PCV was 34.19 % and GCV registered as 24.79 per cent, respectively. Moderate PCV (14.28,16.10) and GCV (13.78,13.43) were recorded for vine length and primary branches, respectively. The high genetic advance as per cent of mean along with high heritability was obtained for vine length (0.93%), fruit length (0.87%), fruit width (0.76%), primary branches (0.69%), fruits per vine (0.59 %), sex ratio (0.52%), fruit yield (0.44%), days to first female flower anthesis (0.42%), node at first female flower appears (0.41%), days to first harvest (0.40%), fruit thickness (0.37%), days to first male flower anthesis (0.37%), fruit weight (0.35%) and node at first male flower appears (0.20%). more...

The present investigation was carried out with the objective to study the combining ability of parents and hybrids for growth, earliness and yield parameters in bottle gourd. General combining ability effects of parents and sca effects of crosses were highly significant for the characters studied. The parents Bot.G-4, Bot.G-7 and Kolkata Collection are the good general combiners for fruit yield per vine. The line Bot.G-6-2 exhibited significant and maximum gca effects for vine length and number of branches. The line Kolkata Collection showed maximum and significant gca effects for days to first female flower, days to first harvest and sex ratio. Tester Samrat exhibited significant gca effects for vine length, number of branches, nodes up to first female flower, sex ratio and fruit yield per vine. Among crosses, the cross Bot.G-6-2 X Arka Bahar exhibited significant sca effects for vine length and fruit yield per vine. While the cross Bot.G-6-1 X Samrat showed significant sca effects for days to first female flowering and days to first harvest. The cross Bot.G-6 X Samrat exhibited maximum and significant sca effects for nodes up to first female flowering and sex ratio. It is evident that gca or sca effects in parents or hybrids were in desirable for some other traits. Therefore it is important to ascertain the status of parent or hybrid with respective to combining ability effects over a number of component characters. more...

In this study, the effects of different carrier agents like maltodextrin, whey protein isolate, and soy protein isolate on the laboratory preparation of spray-dried bottle gourd powder were studied... more...

To assess the prevalence and severity of bacterial leaf spot on bottle gourd and pumpkin, a survey was conducted in Hamirpur, Una and Bilaspur districts of sub tropical zone of Himachal Pradesh, India during the years 2018 and 2019. Data were recorded in terms of disease severity and fruit rot incidence. The associated pathogen from bottle gourd and pumpkin was isolated on nutrient sodium chloride agar medium and identified on the basis of morphological, biochemical and pathogenicity tests on bottle gourd and pumpkin seedlings. Disease was found to be prevalent at all the locations surveyed exhibiting a mean disease severity from 24.70 to 87.55 and 5.30 to 52.92 per cent in bottle gourd and pumpkin, respectively. Fruits of bottle gourd were recorded to be affected badly exhibiting a mean fruit rot incidence of 10.23 to 95.32 to per cent, while, no fruit rot incidence was recorded in pumpkin fruits. The colonies of the isolated bacterium were mucoid, circular, smooth textured and yellow in colour having a diameter of 2-4 mm. The pathogen was found to be Gram–ve and tested positive for esculin hydrolysis as well as protein digestion test. During pathogenicity tests, incubation period of 2 and 4 days was recorded on bottle gourd and pumpkin, respectively. Based on these studies, the identity of the pathogen was confirmed to be Xanthomonas cucurbitae(ex Bryan) Vauterin et al. more...

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is an important food, medicinal, and utilitarian crop with a large pan-tropical distribution. Two morphologically different types in the siceraria subspecies are sufficiently different to be considered as varieties, but they are assigned into different taxonomic ranks. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) of 95 different accessions from the Nangui Abrogoua University collection was used to confirm the varietal status in bottle gourd. This analysis produced 22 575 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Cluster analyses conducted with 2250 (9.96%) SNPs distinctly separated hard-shelled from soft-shelled types. Analysis of 23 SNPs located in 11 genes coding for traits that differentiate the two types of gourds revealed that genes in the soft-shelled types had about 21% fewer SNPs than genes within hard-shelled gourds, but the latter had more non-synonymous SNPs. Cluster analyses conducted with the 23 SNPs fitted well with the structure defined by the 2250 SNPs, suggesting the implication of these SNPs in the varietal differentiation of bottle gourd. These nucleotide changes along with the genetic relationships between the accessions provide molecular proof supporting the status of two varieties. To prevent the confusion inherent in the use of synonyms and homonyms in bottle gourd, we suggest the terms hard-shelled and soft-shelled to designate, respectively, the varieties used as utensils and those grown for their edible seeds. more...

The study was conducted to reveal various seedling production scenario on floating beds including environmental aspects associating seedling production. Data of various seeding production were collected from total 50 households (HHs) of two villages at Nazirpur Upazila in Pirojpur district of Bangladesh by a pre-tested survey questionnaire. The study showed that 68% farmers did seedling production for business purpose, and 30% as both own and business. During floating cultivation on beds about 50% farmers used their own producing seed and 26% from market. The farmers cultivated 21 different types of vegetables and spices seedlings where highest number of seedling was Bottle gourd (19.11%) followed by Papaya (13.82%) and Chili (12.60%). They used urea as a common fertilizer on floating bed which enriched by TSP (46%) and DAP (40%) during cultivation. It was observed that 32% farmers did seedling cultivation solely as own source of money while 26% got the help from NGOs. After end of the cultivation, 25% beds were sold as compost fertilizer for winter cultivation, 5% were used as own field and 17% farmers utilized the fertilizer as both business and own purpose. The study also revealed that, about 64% of respondent farmers were not suffered by any environmental complications. Adopting modern agrotechnology and minimization of initial cost through subsidy can make this traditional Vasoman Chas has a sustainable agricultural practice. SAARC J. Agri., 18(1): 239-250 (2020) more...

A study was conducted in bottle gourd to estimate the magnitude of heterosis for yield and its thirteen yield related components. Twenty one bottle gourd hybrids generated from 7 × 7 diallel cross (excluding reciprocals) along with their seven parents evaluated in a Randomized Block Design with three replication at at the Olericulture Division of Horticulture Research Centre, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur, Bangladesh during 2018-19. Most of the crosses showed significant heterobeltiosis for earliness. The highest heterobeltiotic effect was observed in the cross P2XP7 and P4XP7. The best heterotic cross for fruit length was P4XP5. Maximum heterotic effect in respect of fruit number per plant was found in the cross P1XP6 and P4XP6. In terms of yield per plant the highest heterobeltiosis was shown by the crosses P3XP4, P3XP5, P4XP5 and P4XP7. In the overall analysis, both additive and non-additive gene actions were found important with predominance of the additive gene effects in the inheritance of bottle gourd. more...

The experiment was conducted in the Horticultural Farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh with aim to assess the influence of two concentrations and three applications of nitrobenzene in relation to control (C0) without nitrobenzene on the growth and yield of bottle gourd. Two concentrations of nitrobenzene applied were: @ 2 ml/L referred as C1 and 3 ml/L referred as C2 in relation to a control (C0) with water instead of nitrobenzene. Further, the above treatments were applied number of times, e.g. One spray (N1), Two spray (N2) and Three spray (N3). In case of different number of concentrations of nitrobenzene the maximum number of male flower (51.06), the maximum number of female flower (40.18), the highest number of fruit harvested per plant (10.95), the highest yield (55.69 t/ha) was found from C1 treatment, whereas the lowest from C0 treatment. For the number of sprays the highest number of flowers (male 49.02 and female 38.05), the maximum number of fruit per plant (10.32), the highest yield (52.94 t/ha) was recorded from N3 treatment, while the minimum from N1 treatment. Due to combined effect, the maximum number of flower (male 57.78 and female 47.12), the maximum number of fruit harvested per plant (12.55), the highest yield (63.38 t/ha) with net income (Tk. 587384.7) and BCR (2.23) was observed from C1N3 treatment combination, while the lowest from C0N1 treatment combination. So, the economic analysis revealed that the C1N3 treatment combination appeared to be the best for achieving the maximum growth, yield and economic benefit of bottle gourd. more...

Germplasm collections are indispensable resources for the mining of important genes and variety improvement. To preserve and utilize germplasm collections in bottle gourd, we identified and validated a highly informative core single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker set from 1,100 SNPs. This marker set consisted of 22 uniformly distributed core SNPs with abundant polymorphisms, which were established to have strong representativeness and discriminatory power based on analyses of 206 bottle gourd germplasm collections and a multiparent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population. The core SNP markers were used to assess genetic diversity and population structure, and to fingerprint important accessions, which could provide an optimized procedure for seed authentication. Furthermore, using the core SNP marker set, we developed an accessible core population of 150 accessions that represents 100% of the genetic variation in bottle gourds. This core population will make an important contribution to the preservation and utilization of bottle gourd germplasm collections, cultivar identification, and marker-assisted breeding. more...

The present investigation was carried out at Main Experiment Station of Department of Vegetable Science, Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology, Narendra Nagar, (Kumarganj) Ayodhya (U.P.), India during summer season of 2013 in a Randomized Block Design with three replications. Observations were recorded for twelve quantitative characters viz., node to first staminate flower anthesis, node to first pistillate flower anthesis, days to first staminate flower anthesis, days to first pistillate flower anthesis, days to first picking, number of fruits/ plant, fruit weight (kg), fruit length (cm), fruit circumference (cm), vine length at the time of last harvest (m), number of branches/plant, fruit yield (kg/plant). The analysis of variance showed highly significant differences for all the characters studied indicating considerable variability among the genotypes. The highest GCV (63.07%) and PCV (63.75%) were observed for fruit yield (kg/plant). In general PCV was marginally higher than the corresponding GCV indicated the less influence of environment in the expression of the characters under study. The broad sense heritability was high for all characters expected genetic advance as percent of mean was also moderate to high for all the economic traits. Thus, most of the economic characters studied in the present investigation were expected to exhibit satisfactory response through selection. more...

The present investigation was carried out at Horticultural Research Station, Mondouri, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India during spring summer seasons of 2015, 2016 and 2017 in a Randomized Block Design with three replications. Genetic divergence was assessed among twenty one genotypes of bottle gourd for sixteen quantitative characters using Mahalanobis’ D2 statistics. The genotypes were grouped into six clusters. Fruit yield per plant (53.81%) contributed maximum towards divergence followed ascorbic acid content of the pulp (28.10%), seed number per fruit (4.29%) and TSS of the pulp (4.29%). Highest inter cluster distance was observed between cluster I and VI followed by cluster V and VI. Highest cluster mean values were observed for most of the traits with the genotypes present in cluster I. Based on superior mean performance for fruit yield per plant, genetic distances and clustering pattern, six promising and diverse inbred lines or varieties of bottle gourd viz., RJBGC-140, RJBGC-118, BOGVAR-2 and Pusa Samridhi (from cluster I) and Arka Bahar (from cluster VI) and Pusa Sandesh (from cluster V) selected as parents for the exploitation of hybrid vigour in bottle gourd. more...

The present study was conducted from July 2019 to February 2020 to evaluate the diversity of chalcidoids in different natural and manmade agroecosystems from three agro-climatic zones (Chhattisgarh Plains, Bastar Plateau and Northern Hills) in the state Chhattisgarh, India. The survey resulted in the collection of 386 specimens belonging to eight families Chalcididae-256 specimens (66.32%), Encyrtidae-13 (3.37%), Eulophidae-77 (19.94%), Eurytomidae-06 (1.56%), Mymaridae-02 (0.52%), Ormyridae-01 (0.26%), Pteromalidae-16 (4.14%), and Torymidae-15 (3.89%), respectively from 17 collection sites. The highest diversity of chalcidoids was observed in the natural vegetation of Chhattisgarh Plains with Chalcididae as the most predominant family. Altogether, five predominant genera were collected using sweep net and yellow pan traps and were identified as Antrocephalus Kirby - 48 specimens (18.75%), Brachymeria Westwood - 71 (27.73%), Dirhinus Dalman -78 (30.47%), Epitranus Walker - 02 (0.78%), and Hockeria Walker - 57 (22.27%). The Chalcididae genera collected from different natural vegetation in descending order of their dominance were: Brachymeria - 53 specimens (32.31%) > Dirhinus - 42 (25.61%) > Antrocephalus - 34 (20.73%) > Hockeria - 33 (20.13%) > Epitranus -02 (1.22%). However in the manmade agroecosystems, Dirhinus was the most dominant genus and the descending order of dominance of genera observed were: Dirhinus - 36 specimens (39.13%) > Hockeria - 24 (26.09%) > Brachymeria - 18 (19.57%) > Antrocephalus - 14 (15.21%) with absence of the genus Epitranus . Comparing all the survey sites, Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, Mungeli was found most abundant in chalcid diversity under natural ecosystem and College of Agriculture, Raipur under agroecosystem with maximum diversity in vegetable fields of spine gourd, bottle gourd and sponge gourd altogether. more...