Objectives

• Nature of damage caused by shoot borer infesting turmeric
• Crop loss caused by shoot borer infesting turmeric
• Distribution of shoot borer in turmeric field
• Seasonal population dynamics of shoot borer infesting turmeric.
• Documentation of natural enemies of shoot borer infesting turmeric.
• Management of shoot borer infesting turmeric

Salient Achievements

• The nature and symptoms of damage caused by shoot borer on turmeric was studied. The larvae bored into the main pseudostem at the base and also into the leaf petiole to enter into the main central shoot.
• The crop loss caused by shoot borer on turmeric under various categories of infestation was 72 g and 79 g per clump when 25?50% and 50?75% of shoots, respectively, were damaged by the pest.
• The pattern of distribution of shoot borer in a turmeric field at Peruvannamuzhi was random initially up to September-October and became more aggregated during October-December.
• Studies on seasonal population dynamics of shoot borer on turmeric at Peruvannamuzhi indicated that the symptoms of pest infestation were first observed during August (0.2%-1.7% shoots infested) and was high during October-December (8.6%-10.9%).
• The natural enemies documented on shoot borer include mermithid nematode, dermapteran, Apanteles taragamme? (Braconidae) and an unidentified hymenopteran.
• Evaluation of four promising insecticides against shoot borer in the field indicted that lamda cyhalothrin 0.0125% and malathion 0.1% were more effective when sprayed at 21 day intervals during July-November.

Research Papers

1. Devasahayam, S. 2006. Biodiversity of natural enemies of insect pests of spice crops. In: Abstracts, National Conference on Agrobiodiversity, 12-15 February 2006, Chennai, pp. 226-227.