Biology of Lac Insect, Kerria lacca Kerr (Lacciferidae: Homoptera) and Feasibility of Cultivation of Lac on Flemingia semialata roxb. for Uttara Kannada District
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Date
2017-11
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University of Agricultural Science, Dharwad
Abstract
Studies on lac insect infesting forest tree species and agricultural crops, biology of lac insect, cultivation of lac insect on Flemingia semialata and its natural enemies on different host plants and evaluation of insecticides molecules on survival of lac insect crawlers were conducted at the College of Forestry, Sirsi and at Agricultural Research Station, Malagi during 2014-2017.
Banyan tree, jambe, tamarind and tur recorded highest settlement and lowest mortality of Kerria lacca as host plants out of thirty hosts.
Emergence of crawlers started immediately after eggs hatching from the female cell and continued up to 35 to 40 days. The newly formed male adults were creamy white with a pair of wings, legs, and well developed eyes. Male adult longevity was only 4 to 5 days. The female was brownish colored. The abdomen of female lac insect had well developed ovisac and wingless lived for 50- 65 days. Female laid eggs under lac encrustation coating. Duration of first instar crawler varied from 25 to 30, second instar 20-24 and third instars 59 to 68 days. Yield of stick /brood lac was 619.20 g/plant and scraped lac was 481.33 g/plant in kharif season. In rabi season, stick /brood lac was 566.53 g/plant and scraped lac was 407.94 g/plant.
Predators like, Eublemma amabilis, Pseudohypatopa pulvarea and Chrysopa sp, parasitoid, Tachardiaephagus tachardiae were recorded on the brood lac of F. semialata and Calliandra calothyrus host plants. Indoxacarb 14.5 SC @ 0.2 ml/l recorded the highest number of survival of lac insect followed by flubendiamide 40 SC @ 0.2 ml/l, spinosad 45 SC @ 0.1 ml/l and fipronil 5 SC @ 0.2 ml/l and these treatments were on par with UTC-1 (with water dipping) and UTC-2 (without water dipping).
With proper management lac cultivation on F. semialata is feasible in Uttara Kannada District.