SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE

Insect pests of curcas L. and the potential for their management

With the exponential rise in petroleum prices mollucicidal2, fungicidal3 and nemati- and four orders has been compiled in and increase in demand for petroleum cidal properties. Australia, where it is considered as a products around the world, it appears Contrary to popular belief that toxicity weed. The that caused maximum that the price of crude oil would remain and insecticidal properties of J. curcas damage proved to be the seed-feeding high for a long time. This is the reason are a sufficient deterrent for that Scutelleridae, Agonosoma trilineatum6. why governments and researchers are cause economic damage in plantations, The crop is projected to have less pest looking for alternate means of fuel. Bio- several groups of insects have overcome damage and hence minimum requirement diesel is one such option and many countries this barrier. Particularly noteworthy is for plant protection. However, in reality, are taking initiatives in this direction. the insect order Heteroptera that has at even in when J. curcas is grown in USA and several European countries are least 15 species in Nicaragua, which can continuous stretches as a monocrop, it is already working towards substituting pe- extract nutrients from physic nut4. The devastated by two pests that are emerging troleum fuel. Europe is targetting to re- key pest in Nicaragua was identified as as a major problem in Jatropha cultivat- duce the consumption of petroleum fuel Pachycoris klugii Burmeister (Scutella- ion – the scutellarid bug Scutellera nobi- at least by around 5%, by substituting ridae: Heteroptera), occurring at a den- lis Fabr. which causes flower fall (Figure with biofuel by the year 2010. In India, sity of 1234 to 3455 insects per hectare5. 1 a), fruit abortion (Figure 1 b) and mal- is gaining importance A global list of phytophagous insects formation of seeds. In Jhansi, it was ob- commercially as a biodiesel plant and is consisting of 60 species in 21 families served to occur at an average of being advocated for development of wastelands and dry lands. It is popularly called energy plantation. India has 146 m ha a b of wasteland (NBSSLUP, 2004), of which c 33 m ha can be reclaimed for Jatropha plantation, in addition to arable land that is being used for plantation. The Indian government’s US $300 million national biofuels programme has the potential to create the world’s first large-scale natio- nal biodiesel industry. Currently, Jatropha appears to be one of the most promising d e g feedstocks upon which the industry will be built. India has the available land and the scientific know-how in planting and cultivation to rapidly develop Jatropha plantations on a large scale. The Plan- f ning Commission had indicated that Rs 1400 crores should be allocated for the promotion of biodiesel in three years. j This includes research efforts, populariza- h i tion and providing financial support to entrepreneurs. J. curcas belongs to the family Euphor- biaceae and is thus closely related to other important cultivated plants like rubber, castor, etc. It is believed to be a native of South America and Africa. Since its introduction by Portuguese traders k l m in the 16th century in India, Jatropha has been grown as a medicinal plant and hedge crop. Nine species of Jatropha now thrive in India’s varied regional climates. It is found in almost all the states and is generally grown as a live fence for protection of agricultural fields from damage by livestock, as it is not Figure 1. Pests and natural enemies of Jatropha curcas. a, Scutellera nobilis inserting stylet into flowers; b, Fruits; c, Bunch. d, Pempelia morosalis webbing inflorescence. e, Larvae; f, eaten by cattle or goat. The seed oil is Adult; g, Capsule damage. h, Parasite of Pempelia. i, Spider, Stegodyphus sp. j, Bugs ensnared also reported to possess insecticidal1, in web. k, thraustica. l, O. versicolor; m, Archaea janata.

162 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 91, NO. 2, 25 JULY 2006 SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE five per bunch, with a maximum of 15 per litre for the biodiesel to be sold through 3. Lakshmanan, P., Mohan, S. and Jeyarajan, bugs per bunch (Figure 1 c). 20 outlets in different parts of the coun- R., Madras Agric. J., 1990, 77, 1–4. The inflorescence and capsule-borer, try from January 2006. If the production 4. Grimm, P. C. and Maes, J. M., Rev. Nica- Pempelia morosalis also causes econo- costs are further aggravated by pests, raguense Entomol., 1997, 39, 13–26. mic damage by webbing and feeding on there would be an impact on the econom- 5. Grimm, C., Manejo Integrado Plagas., 1996, 42, 23–30. inflorescences (Figure 1 d–f ) and in later ics of the crop. Therefore, the dire need 6. Smith, K. and Heard, T., Pestic. Outlook, stages boring into the capsules (Figure of the day is to include resistance to in- 2003, 14, 145.

1 g). However, in Jhansi, it has been ob- sects and diseases in the varietal im- 7. Jatropha production technology, http: served to be parasitized by the dipteran provement programme. Monitoring and //tnau.ac.in/tech/swc/evjatropha.pdf (Figure 1 h) to an extent of 85%. Another timely control measures can also help re- 8. Gabriel, D., Calcagnolo, G., Tancini, R. S., natural control agent was the spider, Ste- duce pest impact. Biological control avenues Dias Netto, N., Petinelli Jr, A. and Araujo, godyphus sp. (Eresidae: Arachnida), which must be explored completely. Scelionids J. B. M., Biologico, 1988, 54, 17–20. snared these bugs in its web (Figure 1 i). like Pseudotelenomus pachycoris were 9. Grimm, C. and Guharay, F., Biocontrol Elsewhere, capsule-borer and the bark- found to be effective egg parasitoids of Sci. Technol., 1998, 8, 365–376. eating caterpillar have been recorded as the scutellarid P. klugii in Nicaragua8. In key pests for which a spray of endosulfan India, the dipteran parasitoid of Pempelia 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. I acknowledge the is advocated . Other pests that have also offers promise. The entomopathoge- facilities provided at NRCAF, Jhansi for the caused noticeable damage are Stomphas- nous fungi, (Bals.) study and thank Dr R. V. Kumar whose germ- tis (Acrocercops) thraustica Meyerick, Vuill. and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) plasm collections were utilized for the obser- the blister miner (Figure 1 k), the semi- Sorok. (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomyce- vations. looper Achaea janata (Figure 1 m) and to tes) were found to cause 64–99% morta- a small extent, the flower beetle Oxyce- lity of the true bugs. zonatus tonia versicolor (Figure 1 l). (Dallas) and Pachycoris klugii Burmeis- Received 2 January 2006; accepted 30 April According to the Indian government’s ter9 can also be used against the scutel- 2006 Vision 2020 document, cultivating 10 m ha larid bug in India. Indepth studies on the with Jatropha would generate 7.5 million ecological aspects as well as control tonnes of fuel a year, creating year-round measures are being carried out at the Na- CHITRA SHANKER* jobs for five million people. As the situa- tional Research Centre for Agroforestry S. K. DHYANI tion stands today, biodiesel produced es- (NRCAF), Jhansi. pecially from plants such as J. curcus National Research Centre for and Pongamia work out to Rs 30 per litre, Agroforestry, 1. Emeasor, K. C., Ogbuji, R. O. and Emo- according to studies. This is more or less sairue, S. O., Z. Pflanzenkr. Pflanzen- Gwalior Road, equal to the current price of commer- schutz, 2005, 112, 80–87. Jhansi 284 003, India cially sold diesel, though the Ministry of 2. Abdel Hamid, H. F., J. Egypt.-Soc. Parasi- *For correspondence. Petroleum has approved a price of Rs 25 tol., 2003, 33, 947–954. e-mail: [email protected]

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