Termites in Agriculture Ermites Attack Several Agricultural and Horticultural Crops

Popular Article Journal Home: www.bioticainternational.com Article: RT622 How to cite this article? Biotica Kambrekar et al., 2021. Termites Menace in Agriculture Research and Their Management. Biotica Research Today 3(6): [468-471. [ Today Abstract 468 ermites are one of the most damaging insect’s pests in Vol 3:6 agriculture, forestry and plantation. Colonized living of termites 2021 471 Twith together makes its life more protected than other social insects making difficult to prevent agriculture from damage by this insect. Several management measures have been tailored to manage Termites Menace in termites effectively including integration of all cultural, physical, chemical and biological methods. Adding organic material to the soil, Agriculture and Their crop rotation, physical barriers, encouraging predators, plant parts Management and plant extracts can be used effectively for control of this insect. D. N. Kambrekar*, Suresh Jambagi and Introduction Kartik Nidagundi or centuries termites have been recorded as the most treaded pest in India. Mention has been made time Dept. of Agricultural Entomology, University of Agricultural and again of their destructive activity in books and Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka (580 005), India F scientific reports. Even though termites are of great economic importance and distributed widely, very little information is available on different species of termites in India. In India, it is reported that 190 species of termites are available attacking a wide variety of crops like cereals, annuals, shrubs, living Open Access trees and timber. Corresponding Author Past research on termites in India has covered the fields of D. N. Kambrekar taxonomy, damage to crops, forestry plantations and timber e-mail: [email protected] structures, a certain amount of physiology but little ecology. More than 2,000 species of termites have been known in the world. Sen-Sarma et al. (1975) reported that there are 2,300 species of termites belonging to 170 genera and six families. In Keywords India, 300 species of termites have been reported (Chhotani, Agriculture, Management, Menace, Termites 1980). Although termites are strictly tropical they invade sub-tropics and to a limited extent, the temperate zone. The termite species available in tropical regions vary from species available in the arid zones of the world (Krishna, 1970). Termites in Agriculture ermites attack several agricultural and horticultural crops. To list a few, cereals (rice, wheat, barley), millets T(sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet), maize, pulses, groundnut, cotton, tea, coffee, coconut, palm, cashew nut, yam, mango, citrus, sapota, guava and grapevine. It is estimated that the loss accumulated due to damage in these crops may run to several millions of rupees per year. List of termite affecting agricultural crops is given in Table 1. Rice ubterranean termites of the family Termitidae are the Article History most frequent pest on upland rice. Microtermes spp. Received in 05th June 2021 was described as a major problem in loose textured th S Received in revised form 16 June 2021 soils at IARI farm in New Delhi. In West Bengal Heterotermes Accepted in final form 17th June 2021 indicola was reported to cause white ear symptom like that of lepidopteran borers. O. obesus was a major pest from nursery E-mail: [email protected] to harvest on upland rice grown in Haryana. In medium clay

Table 1: List of Termite species and the crops attacked by them Sl. No. Species Crops attacked 1 Odontotermes obesus (Rambur) Wheat, barley, sorghum, cotton, sugarcane, groundnut, coconut, sunhemp, chillies, mango, citrus, grapevine, peach, Japanese mint, fruit trees and forest trees. 2 O. wallonensis (Wasmann) Maize, finger millet, redgram, sugarcane, groundnut, niger, castor, coconut, mango, jackfruit, cashew. 3 O. brunneus (Hagen) Grasses, dead wood 4 O. malabaricus (Holmgren & Holmgren) Coconut 5 O. redemani (Wasmann) Coconut 6 O. bellahunisensis (Holmgren & Coconut Holmgren) 7 O. horni (Wasmann) Maize, fingermillet, castor, cashew, tamarind. 8 Microtermes obesi (Holmgren) Wheat, barley, oats, maize, pearlmillet, pulses, cotton, jute, sugarcane, groundnut, coconut, sunhemp, chillies, vegetables, plantation crops, potato, cassava, chrysanthemum, rose and fruit trees. 9 Trinervitermes biformis (Wasmann) Wheat, finger millet, cotton, brinjal, guava, mango, citrus, sapota, pomegranate. 10 T. heimi (Wasmann) Sugarcane, groundnut, cotton, vegetables, fruit trees, grasses. 11 Discuspiditermes fletcheri (Holmgren Coffee & Holmgren) 12 D. indicola (Wasmann) Potato, grasses 13 Nasutitermes indicola (Wasmann) Coffee 14 Coptotermes heimi (Wasmann) Apple, Mango 15 Hetertermes ceylonicus (Holmgren) Coffee 16 Anacanthotermes viarum (Koenig) Upland rice, millets and grasses. and alluvial soil area of the Ramanathapuram District of Tamil hollow out the tap root around 45 days after planting. The Nadu, Harvester termite Anacanthotermes viarum was the tunnels so created are filled with soil. This type of damage is major problem both in seedling and harvest stage. In the early typical of the small-sized Microtermes spp. which is the most stage of the crop they cut down and carry away the seedlings abundant and widely distributed termite pests of groundnut. to poor crop stand. At the time of maturity they harvest ear Odontotermes spp. and Ancistrotermes spp. cause soil sheet heads. The damage ranged from 2.4 to 80.0 percent.. covering on standing crops. Macrotermes spp. damage plants Wheat by cutting the base of the stem. Attacked plants disappear rapidly due to removal of plant tissues by termites. oss of grain crops through termite damage in wheat is done by Microtermes obesi, a small subteraanean termite Damage to mature pods is common and wide spread in which eats the roots of small plants and causes yellowing India. Termites, Coleopteran larvae and millipedes penetrate L pods and feed on kernels. Pod penetration by termites is of leaf blades followed by wilting of the central shoot and finally death. It is reported termite damage on wheat crop frequently caused by Microtermes and to a losses extent by in different parts of India and factors influencing damage. Odontotermes. The empty spaces created after the kernels The termites were real problem in Rajasthan, some parts of are filled with soil. Madhya Pradesh and their damage was not observed in states Coconut of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The termite was low in clay ermite attack on coconut palm, on the whole, confined and block soils, high in sandy loam soils and severe in red soils. to seedlings in the nursery and young palms up to four Groundnut Tyears old. On older palms, termites appear to aggravate he genera, Microtermes and Odontotermes are the the existing damage by borers and wounds caused by careless most damaging in groundnut while Macrotermes causes cultivation. On the west coast of India,Odontotermes obesus Toccasional damage. Termites invade the root system and is an important pest in coconut nurseries. Where the soil of

laterite origin rather than sandy, up to 20% of the seedlings • High density sowing, followed by thinning of surviving plants may be destroyed and this attack continues after planting reduce anticipated losses due to termites. out. The first sign of attack is the wilting of the central shoot, • Crop rotation may be useful in reducing the buildup of soil caused by the termites working up through the base of the nut pests. A set back is winged adults of some termite species are or by attacking at the collar. Similar damage is recorded from capable of moving in from other sites if preferred hosts are Srilanka where the termite is O. redemani. Coptotermes niger planted in the field used for rotation. is another pest which is found as a secondary pest in wounds • Crop rotation: Planting the same crop on the same land year of palm trunks. Coptotermes heimi is also an important termite after year reduces soil fertility and structure. Crops growing species causing severe damage in coconut. in such conditions will be weaker and susceptible to termites. Sugarcane Crop rotation can play an important role in reducing termite here are three periods when sugarcane is likely to be attack. This can prevent pest and disease buildup and also damaged by termites. The first of this is when the setts help the soil to recover nutrients. In some parts of India, are planted out in the fields. The second period comes farmers cultivate castor (Ricinus communis) crop in severely T termites infested field and doing so they found that the towards the end of growth as the canes approach maturity. The third period is wherever the hard outer layer of the termite infestation has substantially been decreased in the growing cane is broken by rodents, stem borers or other next cropping season. agents giving access to softer inner layer. Termite damage to Biological Control sugarcane is spasmodic, depending on growing conditions and Nematode species which are suitable as termiticide are: on the kinds of termites present in the area. In India the main Steinernema carpocapsae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. source of damage lies in attack on the newly planted setts, Termites are potential hosts for these nematodes. which prevents maximum germination with resultant loss of crop due to poor stands. It is estimated that in Bihar this loss Botanicals amounts to 2.5% in tonnage of cane and 4.5% in sugar output Many laboratory bioassays have demonstrated the efficacy due to Microtermes obesi. O. obesus and Microtermes sp. were of these plant extracts on termites. Extracts such as those listed as serious pests of sugarcane in Bangladesh. of the neem tree have been found to be efficacious against Cotton termites on cassava-maize intercrops. Neem oil, Neem seed kernel extract and neem cake controlled termites that infest ap roots of cotton are damaged by Microtermes sp. agricultural crops. causing stunting of the plant. M. studanensis attacks Tyoung plants at the collar making its way in and then Irrigation proceeding to tunnel up and down the stem causing the plant rrigation is also used to minimize the effect of the termites. to die. The harvester termite Hodotermes mossambicus has When the farm is regularly irrigated, the activities or been known to defoliate cotton plants in the drier parts of damages of termites are reduced. Tanganyika. In parts of East Africa ripening cotton is liable to I Timing of Harvesting damage by the large mound building termites of the genus Macrotermes and smaller Odontotermes. Five species of rops are more seriously damaged towards harvest than termites were recorded damaging cotton crop in Pakistan. earlier period of the season. Therefore prompt harvest is recommended. Management Practices C Conclusion Cultural Methods ermites are the most troublesome pest of agricultural • Deep ploughing or hand tillage exposes termites to crops and wooden structures. Although, chemical desiccation and to predators, thus reducing their number in control is an effective measure of protection by termites the crops. T but their excessive use is harmful for our environment and • Pre-planting tillage also destroys the tunnels caused by the results are not sustainable and also costlier for farmers. termites and minimize their foraging activities and associated Prevention is the best feasible and effective option to termite damage. control. Field especially during crop production period must • The complete destruction of mounds and removal of queen be kept in good hygienic condition by removal of dead plant termites are effective control measures against mound material like wood, stalks and any trash. The extracts of many building species. Partial destruction of mounds is unlikely to plants were found to be effective against termites. Although solve problem if nymphs and alates are present during the some botanicals were not as effective as chemical but they time of dequeening because replacement reproduction may are nontoxic and safe for the environment, biodegradable develop. and renewable source. The use of botanicals and biocontrol

agents are a promising alternative to chemical control. In order Krishna, K., 1970. Taxonomy, phylogeny and distribution of to achieve sustainable solutions, the protection of storage termites. In: Biology of termites. Vol. II (ed.. K. Krishna structures should be given preference over the destruction and F.M. Weisner) Academic Press, New Delhi, pp. of termite mounds. In order to prevent damage or curative 127-152. treatments, regular inspections of the storage structures are Sen-sarma, P.K., Thakur, M.L., Mishra, S.C., Gupta, B.K., 1975. required for both, traditional granaries and warehouses. Identify, distribution and economic significance of Insect Growth Regulators and new insecticide molecules wood destroying termites of India, In: Wood destroying have great potential in the management of termites. Further termites of India (ed. P. K. Sen-Sarma, Final technical research is needed on the development of cheap, effective report-1968-73, Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, and long-lasting pesticides alternatives. India, pp. 1-66. References Chhotani, O.B., 1980. Termite pests of agriculture in the Indian region and their control, In: Zool. Surv. India Monograph, 4, 94.