J. Bamboo and Rattan, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 23-32 (2017) c KFRI 2017

A first report of the Bamboo weevil Cyrtotrachelus sp. as a serious pest of Managa bamboo Dendrocalamus stocksii (Munro) in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra, India

Milind Digambar Patil University of Mumbai, M. G. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400032, India.

Abstract: Dendrocalamus stocksii is a commercially important bamboo species in Peninsular India. The Bamboo weevil Cyrtotrachelus sp. (Coleoptera: ) is reported for the first time as a shoot borer of tender shoots of D. stocksii at Dapoli, Maharashtra, India. A stagnant rancid odour in the plantation first indicated heavy infestation of the pest. As much as 62% of the newly emerging shoots showed infestation. Around 94% of the incidences were recorded within 1.5m above ground surface. Tunneling by the grubs resulted in terminal shoot damage and led to the formation of epicormics. Observations on the biology, infestation status and economic significance of this pest are presented.

Keywords: Bamboo pests, earthen puparia, entomophilic nematodes, pheromones, Western Ghats

INTRODUCTION

Dendrocalamus stocksii (Munro) M. Kumar, Remesh and Unnikrishnan, 2004 is a medium sized, sympodial bamboo species found in the Central Western Ghats. It is distributed from northern Kerala, Karnataka and Goa up to the Konkan coasts of Maharashtra (Kumar et al., 2004). It has wide physiographical adaptability and comes up well in tropical humid, sub humid and semi-arid conditions (Viswanath et al., 2012). D. stocksii is traditionally being planted in the home gardens, farm bunds, farm borders and for bio-fencing (Rane et al., 2016). It is the third most preferred bamboo species in agriculture sector in peninsular India (Rao et al., 2008). Viswanath et al. (2012) first systematically recorded the pests and diseases of D. stocksii from various regions of Western Ghats. Among insect pests, scale (Antonina sp.) cause damage to growing culms. Harvested poles are susceptible to Powder post and Ghoon borer of the family Bostrychidae. The latter causes severe damage to the harvested poles reducing it to wasteful powder (Viswanath et al., 2012). This is the first time that severe incidence of the Bamboo weevil Cyrtotrachelus sp. was noticed on growing culms of D. stocksii from Konkan region of Maharashtra.

*To whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected] 24 Journal of Bamboo and Rattan

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An experimental plantation of D. stocksii was established at College of Forestry campus at Dapoli (17°44'51.48"N, 73°10'28.77"E, 189 m above msl) in 2013. There were around 100 clumps planted at a spacing of 3×3m under regular irrigation. Bamboo weevils were first observed damaging newly emerging shoots of D. stocksii in July 2015. Regular field observations of the damaged culms were maintained during July to December, 2015. Detailed physical examination of damaged shoots (n=8) was also performed to record the mode of infestation and the degree of damage to the growing shoots.

OBSERVATIONS

A stagnant rancid odour at the plantation site indicated a heavy infestation by the pest. The female were observed to make oviposition holes on the apical portion of growing shoots using its tubular proboscis in a 'head downward' posture (Fig. 1a, b). In each hole, a single egg was laid (Fig. 2). A single culm contained up to four eggs at various locations on the culm.

Figure 1. Bamboo weevil Cyrtotrachelus sp. a. making oviposition holes on new growing shoots of D. stocksii

b. oviposition holes Figure 2. An egg of the Bamboo weevil Cyrtotrachelus sp. Journal of Bamboo and Rattan 25

Grubs internally bored the wall of culm (Fig. 3a, b) and made long irregular tunnels from egg pit to upwards, passing through the nodes and internodes (Fig. 4). The tunnels were filled with chewed fibrous material and excreta of the grub. As the infestation progresses, apical portion of the growing culm was entirely eaten away leading to the formation of a hollowed and dead terminal shoot. It was observed that 62% of the new emerging culms (n=331) were damaged by the pest, of which 94% incidences were recorded within a height of 1.5m above ground surface. As the vertical growth of a culm ceased, lateral buds were vigorously developed into terminal branching (Fig. 5).

a b Figure 3. Larva of the Bamboo weevil C yrtotrachelus sp. a. Lateral view, b. Frontal view

Figure 4. Long irregular tunnels Figure 5. Delopment of terminal made by the larvae passing branching in infested culms of through nodes and internodes of D. stocksii the growing shoots of D. stocksii 26 Journal of Bamboo and Rattan

Table 1. Records of Cyrtotrachelus sp. infestation in different bamboo species, India

Sr. Place Species Bamboo species Authors No. 1 Aligarh C. buqueti Bambusa pervariabilis, (Choudhury (Uttar B. textiles, et al., 2007) Pradesh) Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Lingnania chungii, Melocannna baccifera, Sinocalamus oldhami,

2 Terai region C. longimanus unknown (Thapa, 2000)

3 North East C. dux and D.hamiltoni, D. (Cotes, 1893; India C. longimanus strictus, M. baccifera Panda, 2011) 4 Arunachal C. dux Bambusa tulda (Padmanaban Pradesh et al., 1993; Bag, 2002) 5 Assam, C. dux unknown (Kapur, 1954) Manipur, Sikkim and Bengal

DISCUSSION

Altogether 18 species of weevils have been reported worldwide as pests of Bamboo (Haojie et al., 1998) of which Cyrtotrachelus buqueti Guerin-Meneville, C. longimanus Fabricius and C. dux Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are the most destructive (Singh and Bhandari, 1988; Haojie et al., 1998). C. dux and C. longimanus are widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent especially in North East India, Nepal, South China, Bangladesh, Burma, Myanmar, Borneo, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and Sri Lanka (Cotes, 1893; Kapur, 1954; Choldumrongkul, 1991; Thapa, 2000; RuiTing et al., 2005a; Choudhury et al., 2007; Nair, 2007; Hill, 2008; QiuJu et al., 2009, Panda, 2011; Hogarth, 2013). Many authors reported heavy infestation of the weevils in many species of bamboo such as Bambusa chungii, B. multiplex, B. pervariabilis, B. textilis and Dendrocalamopsis oldhami in China (Liu et al., 1993; RuiTing et al., 2005b; Maoyi et al., 2007) as well as Bambusa arundinacea, B. blumeana, B. nana, Cephalostachyum pergracile, Dendrocalamus asper, D. giganteus, D. strictus, Gigantochloa hasskarliana, Phyllostachys bawacamus, P. mannii and Thyrsostachys siamensis in Thailand (Anon, 2007). C. longimanus damages 30 to 40% of the young shoots in Dendrocalamus forests of Vietnam (Chuong et al., 2005). RuiTing et al., Journal of Bamboo and Rattan 27

(2005a) reported 63% of the growing shoots of B. multiplex were damaged by C. buqueti in Shanghai, China during rainy season (July to September). In severe infestation this figure may reaches as high as 90% (Maoyi et al., 2007).

Life history traits All the three species have more or less similar life history stages and damaging habits and exhibits one generation per year (Haojie et al., 1998; Maoyi et al., 2007; Nair, 2007). Interestingly, the developmental life history of the pest is largely determined by mean daily temperature and the minimum temperature of the day (YaoJun et al., 2011). The pest becomes active with the onset of monsoon coincides with emergence of new bamboo culms. Some special volatile chemicals from the growing shoots may allure it e.g. YaoJun et al. (2010) highlighted that the relative content of aldehydes, primary benzaldehyde, in upper portion of growing culms attracts C. buqueti. Thus availability of the most preferred host may increases the instances of damage by multifold. Adult female can attract many males through pheromone signals (DingZe et al., 2012). In general, mating involves four phases viz. courtship display, pair-bonding, ejaculation and post-copulation guarding (Hua et al., 2015). Females lay single elliptical egg after making oviposition holes in a growing shoot (Panda, 2011). Eggs are generally placed about 25cm from the top growing portion of the culm (Chuong et al., 2005). Single culm bears 3 to 4 eggs at various places Eggs (Panda, 2011). Single female may spawns 35 to 40 eggs in her life (Maoyi et al., 2007). Eggs hatches after 1 to 2 weeks of oviposition and develop into white legless larva (grub). It has brown head capsule and well developed jaws. Grubs move vertically upward while feeding (Nair, 2007). After around four weeks, fully grown grub escapes from the culm. It burrows the soft rain-loosened soil and constructs puparia (Chen, 1930). Puparia can be observed within 0.5m to 2.5m distance from the culm and at 18cm to 27cm depth (Chuong et al., 2005). An immature weevil develops inside the puparia within 3 to 4 weeks, but it emerges out only after 9½ months when the earthen cell wall of the puparia softens in the next monsoon (Attajarusit et al., 2000; Maoyi et al., 2007; Hill, 2008). Newly emerged adults climb onto fresh emerging shoots of bamboo and starts feeding on them. Adults start mating two days after obtaining enough nutrition and the life cycle continues (Maoyi et al., 2007). Here the damaged bamboo shoots commonly show profuse lateral branching from the stool. Damaged clumps may sometimes show the second period of growth (October-November) to compensate the damage during early monsoon (July-August) (Hill, 2008). 28 Journal of Bamboo and Rattan

Control Measures Digging and removal of damaged culms and shoots is recommended (Haojie et al., 1998). Giang et al. (2005) and Chen (1930) claimed that soil tillage operations one meter around the clump at 20 to 30 cm depth significantly destroy the immature weevils inside the puparia. Net-capturing and destruction of the adults during June to October is also suggested (Chuong et al., 2005; Li-jun, 2009). Choldumrongkul and Atirattanapunya (1993) mentioned that thinning did not significantly affect the number of shoots damaged by the pest. Susceptibility of growing shoots to C. buqueti can be minimized by using Cypermethrin (San-Lin et al., 2005). Chlorpyrifos also has lethal effect on C. buqueti (LiJun et al., 2011). Injecting Bi58 poisonous compound into shoots carrying insect eggs gives positive results. Here juvenile insects get killed inside the shoot while shoots still developed normally (Chuong et al., 2005; Giang et al., 2005). But it is only recommended when shoots are used for non-edible purposes. In insects, female pheromones have great allure to the male of the same species, thus synthetic chemo-attractants e.g. pheromones of male/female can be promisingly used to magnetize the opposite sex of the same species (Li-jun, 2009; Hua et al., 2010; YaoJun et al., 2010; DingZe et al., 2012). Entomophilic nematodes e.g. Steinernema glaseri Syn. Neoaplectana glaseri can also be effective against C. longimanus which kills around 50% of the infested hosts within 3-4 days (Liu et al., 1989). Spreading tapioca paste containing the nematode with a low dose of a chemical insecticide into the holes bored by the pest causes mortality of the grubs up to 80% and the partially damaged culms can grew normally (Liu et al., 1993).

CONCLUSION

D. stocksii because of its multifarious uses considered one amongst 18 industrially important bamboo species prioritized by National Bamboo Mission (NBM), Government of India. It is one of the most preferred bamboo species managed under plantations in Peninsular India. It has perennial market in- and outside the Konkan region. Presently, average on-farm price of D. stocksii pole is 50 or $ 0.74 (1 USD = 67 INR) whereas furniture grade poles do fetch more than 75 or $ 1.34. Heavily infested bamboo plantations showed hundreds of culms ruptured below 2 m thus could not attain the commercial height. Farmers may not fetch the desired prize of such miniature poles. Here it concludes that heavy infestation of bamboo weevil may adversely influence micro-economics of bamboo cultivation in the Konkan region of Maharashtra and may reduce the annual net farm income by more than 50%. Irregularity of precipitation due to global climate changes and a trend towards increasing rains in November and December i.e. the winter rains (Patil et al., 2016) in Konkan region may providing congenial conditions for the early development and dispersal of the adult weevils. A scientific study on biology and behaviour of the Journal of Bamboo and Rattan 29 bamboo weevil is necessary. In addition, developing a package of integrated pest management and dissemination of the outputs amongst bamboo growers is necessary.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am thankful to Professor Mr. S. K. Mehendale and Professor Mrs. Kumud V. Naik, Department of Agriculture Entomology, College of Agriculture, Dapoli; Professor Ajay Rane and Professor Vinayak Patil of College of Forestry, Dapoli for technical support and encouragements.

REFERENCES

Anon, 2007. Overview of Forest Pests, Thailand, Forest Resources Development Service, Forest Management Division, FAO, Rome, Italy. 43 p. Attajarusit, J., Somsook, V. and Nanta, P. 2000. Life cycle, behaviour and control of the bamboo shoot borer Cyrtotrachelus dichrous by entomopathogenic nematode. In C. Hutacharern, B. Napompeth, G. Allard, F. R. Wylie (Eds.) Pest Management in Tropical Forest Plantations. FAO Forestry Research Support Programme for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand: pp. 157–158. Bag, T. K. 2002. Plant protection research in Arunachal Pradesh. In: K. A. Singh (Eds.). Resource management perspective of Arunachal agriculture 2002. Arunachal Pradesh, India: pp. 301–325. Chen, H. T. 1930. Notes on a Bamboo Borer (Cyrtotrachelus longimanus F.). Lingnan Sci. J. 6(4): 353–366. Choldumrongkul, S. 1991. Insect pests of bamboo shoot in Thailand. In: Proceedings of the 4th International Bamboo Workshop on Bamboo in Asia and the Pacific. Chiangmai, Thailand. pp. 27–30. Choldumrongkul, S. and Atirattanapunya, W. 1993. Shoot production and the damage of pests and diseases of Pai Ruak (Thyrsostachys siamensis Gamble) after different thinning intensities. Kasetsart Journal, Nat. Sci. 27(1): 20–24. Choudhury, R. A., Ahktar, M. S. and Shujauddin. 2007. Insect pests of bamboo in Aligarh, India. J. Entomol. Res. 31(4): 369–372. Chuong D., Toan, D. V. N., Quan, L. V. and Lien L. Q. 2005. Study on biological characteristics of Cyrtotrachelus longimarus worms and control measures. pp.1–2. http://vafs.gov.vn/en/2005/04/study-on-biological-characteristics-of- cyrtotrachelus-longimarus-worms-and-control-measures/ Cotes, E. C. 1893. An elementary manual of zoology. Office of the Superintendent, Government Printing Press, Calcutta (Kolkata), India: 119 p. 30 Journal of Bamboo and Rattan

DingZe, M., QingHuai, L., Min, S. and Wei, W. 2012. Extraction and identification of cuticular semiochemical components of Cyrtotrachelus buqueti Guerin- Meneville (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Acta Entomol. Sin. 55(3): 291–302. Giang, T. N., Hoanh, L. P., Tuong, H. V. and Chuong, D. 2005. Study on planting technique and management of Dendrocalamus membranaceus forest for establishment of large-scale plantations.pp.1–4. Haojie, W., Varma, R. V. and Tiansen, X. 1998. Insect pests of bamboos in Asia: An illustrated manual, INBAR Technical Report, Beijing, China: 200 p. Hill, D. S. 2008. Pests of crops in warmer climates and their control. Springer publishers, Netherlands: 704 p. Hogarth, N. J. 2013. The link between smallholder bamboo shoot management, income, and livelihoods: a case study in southern China. For. Trees Livelihoods. 22(2): 70–85. Hua, Y., MaoFa, Y., Wei, Y., ChunPing, Y., TianHui, Z., QiOng, H. and XiaoYing, Z. 2010. Behavioral and EAG responses of Cyrtotrachelus buqueti Guerin- Meneville (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) adults to host volatiles and their body extracts. Acta Entomol. Sin. 53(3): 286–292. Hua, Y., Wei, Y., ChunPing, Y., Yan, C., YuanFeng, P., YanWen, F. and ZhiRan, H. 2015. Mating behavior of Cyrtotrachelus buqueti (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Acta Entomol. Sin. 58(1): 60–67. Kapur, A. P., 1954. Contribution to the knowledge of the fauna of Manipur State, Assam. Rec. Indian Museum. 52(2-4): 313–348. Kumar, M. S. M., Ramesh, M. N. and Unnikrishnan N. 2004. A New Combination in Dendrocalamus (Poaceae: Bambusoideae). SIDA, 21(1): 93–96. LiJun, C., Jie, Z., ChuXiong, G., YuXing, A. and ZhengQiang, P. 2011. The Efficacy of 6 Pesticides against Cyrtotrachelus buqueti Guerin-Meneville. Sugarcane and Canesugar 3: 17–21. Li-jun, C. 2009. Study on Trap Efficiency of Different Trappers and Baits on Cyrtotrachelus buqueti Guerin-Meneville. J. Anhui Agric. Sci. 19: 9042–9043, 9065. Liu, N. X., Zhang, Z. Y., Cheng, J. T. and Zheng, L. S. 1989. Study on the entomopathogenic nematodes for biological control of bamboo weevils Cyrtotrachelus longimanus Fabricius (Coleop.: Curculionidae). Nat. Enemies Insects. 11(1): 44–50. Liu, N. X., Liang, M. F., Zheng, L. H. and Liang, Y. Q. 1993. The bionomics of the bamboo weevil and its control by entomopathogenic nematodes. Acta Journal of Bamboo and Rattan 31

Phytophylacica Sin. 20(4): 343–347. Maoyi, F., Jinzhong, X., Benzhi, Z. and Xiantan, Z. X. 2007. Technical Manual on Sympodial Bamboos Cultivation, China Forestry Publishing House. Xicheng District, Beijing, China: 102 p. Nair, K. S. S. 2007. Tropical Forest Insect Pests Ecology, Impact, and Management, Cambridge University Press, New York: 404 p. Padmanaban, B., Kochhar, S. and Chaudhary, R.G. 1993. Bio-ecology of the bamboo shoot borer, Cyrtotrachelus dux Boh. (Col: Curculionidae). Indian J. Hill Farming 6(2): 243–244. Panda, H. 2011. Bamboo Plantation and Utilization Handbook, Asia Pacific Business Press Inc. Delhi, India: 568p. Patil, M. D., Indulkar, S. R., Patil, V. K. and Rane, A. D. 2016. Bamboo especially Dendrocalamus stocksii as a potential climate change mitigation resource in Konkan region of Maharashtra. In: G. A. Kinhal, A. K. Dharni, A. P. Upadhyay and D. Dugaya (Eds.). Climate Change Combating Through Science and Technology, M/S Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, India: pp. 141- 153. QiuJu, H., ChuanHui, Y., YuMing, Y., MaoSheng, S. and Fei, W. 2009. A preliminary survey on pest of bamboo in Yunnan Province. Agric. Sci. Technol. 10(1): 153–156. Rane A. D., Chandramouli S. and Viswanath S. 2016. Can Dendrocalamus stocksii (Munro) be the ideal multipurpose bamboo species for domestication in Peninsular India? J. Bamboo Ratt. 15(1-4): 23-32. Rao, R. V., Gairola, S. C., Shashikala, S. and Sethy, A. K. 2008. Bamboo Utilization in Southern India. Indian For. 134(3): 379–86. RuiTing, J. et al., 2005a. Cyrtotrachelus buqueti in Shanghai. For. Pest Dis. 2: 7–9. RuiTing, J., Ying, X., JianPing, Y., Wei, Y. and YuZhou, D. 2005b. The method of pest risk analysis of urban greening and its application. Acta Phytophylacica Sin. 32(2): 179–184. San-Lin, W., Feng-Zheng, C., Wei-De, W., Xiong-Qing, W. and Shu-Hua, L. 2005. Experiment of Controlling Cyrtotrachelus buqueti with Cypermethrin. J. Fujian For. Sci. Technol. 3: 97–99. Singh, P. and Bhandari, R. S. 1988. Insect Pests of Bamboos and Their Control. Indian For. 114(10): 670–683. Thapa, V. K. 2000. An inventory of Nepal's insects, Vol. III (Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, 32 Journal of Bamboo and Rattan

Coleoptera and Diptera), Kathmandu, Nepal: IUCN, Nepal: 475 p. Viswanath, S., Joshi, G., Somashekar, P. V., Rane, A. D., Chandramouli S. and Joshi, S. C. 2012. Dendrocalamus stocksii (Munro): A Potential Multipurpose Bamboo Species for Peninsular India. IWST Technical Bulletin No. 10, Bangalore, India: 30 p. YaoJun, Y., Hong, Q., ShuFang, W., YuPing, W., Hong, L., Chao, L. and ShiGui, L. 2010. Antennal ultrastructure and electroantennogram responses of Cyrtotrachelus buqueti Guerin-Meneville (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to volatiles of bamboo shoot. Acta Entomol. Sin. 53(10): 1087–1096. YaoJun, Y., Hong, Q., GuangMing, D., ShuFang, W., LiRong, L., Chao, L. and ShiGui, L. 2011. Larvae population dynamics of Cyrtotrachelus buqueti and the forecasting models with climate factors. Sci. Silvae Sin. 47(9): 82–87.