Premium
Incidence and management of white grub, Schizonycha ruficollis on seedlings of teak ( Tectona grandis Linn. f.)
Author(s) -
KULKARNI NITIN,
CHANDRA KAILASH,
WAGH PRAFULLA NARAHAR,
JOSHI KAILASH CHANDRA,
SINGH RAM BHAJAN
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
insect science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.991
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1744-7917
pISSN - 1672-9609
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7917.2007.00168.x
Subject(s) - biology , ziziphus , tectona , horticulture , botany
An investigation was conducted annually from 2002 to 2005 between the second week of May and the end of September on the incidence of scarab beetle, Schizonycha ruficollis (Fabricius) in a teak ( Tectona grandis L.f.) nursery at Ramdongari, Nagpur, India. The immature stages, that is white grubs of the scarab beetle damaged 14%‐52% of teak seedlings in the nursery beds, whereas the adult of the species, that is scarab beetles, were recorded on three new host trees ( Ziziphus xylopyra , Acacia catechu and A. leucophloea ) in addition to the reported hosts such as ziziphus ( Z. jujuba and Z. mauritiana ). Beetles of the S. ruficollis started emerging from the nursery beds just after the pre‐monsoon showers and continued for 10‐18 days. While beetle of S. ruficollis defoliated tree hosts available in the surroundings, the immature stages of the beetle caused major damage by feeding on root systems of teak seedlings with symptoms of wilting and mortality in forest nursery beds. The result of chemical and biological treatments for the management of grubs of S. ruficollis in nursery beds indicated phorate 10% granular at the rate of 20 g/m 2 and chlorpyriphos 20% emulsifiable concentrate at the rate of 5.0 mL/m 2 to be effective. Grubs of S. ruficollis have not been recorded previously as a major pest of teak ( T. grandis ). This is also the first report on occurrence of S. ruficollis adults on tree hosts such as Z. xylopyra , A. catechu and A. leucophloea. White grubs being pests of economic importance and the toughest insects to manage, information given in this paper on incidence, pest status and management of Schizonycha ruficollis is of importance to researchers and forest nursery managers.