none The effect of intercropping chickpea with coriander or linseed on Helicoverpa armigera Hubner egg and larval populations and on the rate of larval parasitism was examined. There were significantly more H. armigera larvae per plot in the sole chickpea treatment than in the intercropped treatments. The reduction was not the result of a negative effect of the companion crops on the numbers of larvae attacking chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Larval density on chickpea was higher in the intercropped plots than the plots of sole chickpea. The presence of the flowering companion crops did not result in either the attraction of otherwise uncommon parasitoids to the crop or an increase in the proportion of H. armigera larvae parasitized by Campoletis chlorideae Uchida. The results suggest that chickpea is a more suitable host for H. armigera than coriander or linseed, and that the reduction in the density of H. armigera larvae in the intercroped treatments was due to the lower number of chickpea plants in these treatments. ANDHRA-PRADESH.