Rodents, Birds and locust_Pests of crops.pdf

Mole rat or Lesser bandicoot rat, Bandicotabengalensis
•Head -round and broad muzzle
•Tail -shorter than head, body
•Prefers damp areas
•Burrows with scooped soil before entrance
•Potential rat, one pair can produce more than 800 offspringsin one year

1. Rodents and Bird pests
By
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD.
Assistant Professor (Entomology)
JSACAT
Affiliated to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

2. Class:Mammalia
Order:Rodentia
India
•43genera,
•4families,
•104(14)Sps.economicallyimportant
•40%ofmammals
•OnepairofChiselshaped‘incisors.
Rodents
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)

3. Mole rat or Lesser bandicoot rat, Bandicotabengalensis
•Head -round and broad muzzle
•Tail -shorter than head, body
•Prefers damp areas
•Burrows with scooped soil
before entrance
•Potential rat, one pair can
produce more than 800
offspringsin one year
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)

4. Larger bandicoot rat, Bandicotaindica
•Heavily built body. Weight 500-
l000g, even more
•Widely distributed in India
•Lives near buildings, storage
structures
•Breeding from Sept.-March
•Extensive damage to flooring
•Tail equal to head and body length
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)

5. Grass rat, Millardiameltada
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
•Grass rat is smaller in size, dark brownish grey
above and pale grey below with soft fur.
•Head and body is about 13 cm long and tail 10 cm
long.
•Usually more than one adult rat occupies a single
burrow.
•It attacks rice in all stages and feeds upon young
germinating grains, cuts and feeds on tender
seedlings and also grown up plants.
•It damages green cotton bolls in black cotton soils

6. Indian Gerbil, Tateraindica
•Tail -longer than head and body
•Eyes -larger rounded ears and black tuft
•Distributed throughout India
•Burrows -zig-zag shape with 2 -4 openings
•Gregarious, damage to seeds of nuts and
fruits
•Reservoir for plague. Destructive to grains
•Brownish grey in colour-white under side
•Head and body -18 cm.
•Tail longer than head and body
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)

7. Common house rat, Rattusrattusrufescens
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
•Itisbrownishgreywithadark
undersurfaceandfeedonallkindof
vegetablesandanimalfoods.
•Itlivesinroofsofhousesandunderground
burrows.
•Damageisgreatinwarehousesandstorage
godowns.

8. Common rat, Rattusrattuswroughtoni
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
•Commonratisreddishoryellowishbrown
withapurewhitebelly.
•Itisdestructivetotendercoconuts.Itlives
andbreedsinsidenests,speciallyconstructed
inthecrownsofthepalms.
•Incloselyplantedgardensitcanjumpfrom
palmtopalm.
•Itbitesholesthroughthehuskanddrinksthe
sweetliquid,spoilednutsfalldowninlarge
numbers

9. Indian field mouse, Mus booduga
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
•BodyoftheIndianfieldmouseisabout5
to8cmlongwith5cmlongtail.
•Itisbrownincolourwithawhitebelly.
•Itburrowsinfieldbundscausingextensive
damagetobundsresultinginwastageof
water.
•Itcutsandremovesgrainsfromricecrop.

10. Brown spiny field mouse, Mus platythrix
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
•Bodyissmall,furcrispandtendstobespiny,
grayerbasally,brownerterminally,dark
browntopalebrownabove,underpartwitha
clearlineofdemarcationalongthesides
•Tailstoutaveragingbelow90percentofthe
lengthofthebody.
•Itfeedsongrainsandgrasses

11. House mouse, Mus musculus
•Body very small, stout tail, bicolour-longer than 90% of
length of head andbody. Dark above and white below.
•Adult droppings -6 mm long, and rod shaped with
pointed ends, but without ridges. Brown to gray in
colour. Distributed throughout country
•Prefers residential premises/ storage
•Nocturnal and fossorial. Breeds throughout year
•Feeds on grains, grass. Destructive in houses, stores,
godowns, poultry farms.
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)

12. BIRD SPECIES AS PESTS OF CROPS
•House sparrow:Passer domesticus
•Parrot: Psittaculaeupatria; P. krameri; P. cyanocephala
•Crow: Corvussplendens
•Pigeon: Columba livia
•Peacock: Pavacristatus
Bulbul: Pycnonotuscafer
Baya: Ploceusphilippinus
Myna: Acridotharestristis
Wild duck: Pterocyaneadiscors
Green bee eater: Meropsorientalis
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)

13. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Itisomnivorous,eatsgrain,insects,fruitbuds,
flowernectarandkitchenscraps.
Itcausesseveredamagetosorghum,smaller
millet,wheat,riceandsmallsucculentfruits
bothunderfieldconditionsandinstorage.
Itusuallylivesandbuilditsnestinaholein
ceilingnicheinwall,invertedlampshapedand
everysitewithinorwithoutanoccupied
building.
House sparrow:Passer domesticus

14. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Parrot is one of the most familiar of indianbirds.
They often band into large flocks.
It is highly destructive at all times to crop and
orchard fruit, gnawing and wasting far more that
it actually eats and cause heavy damage to
agricultural and horticultural crops specially to
sunflower, maize, sorghum, smaller millets,
wheat, gram, pea, guava, jamun, mango, papaya
and other fruits.
Parrot: Psittaculaeupatria; P. krameri; P. cyanocephala

15. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
It is the most familiar bird of Indian towns and villages.
Live in close association to man and obtain livelihood
from man works.
They cause heavy damage to maturing of ripe crops of
agricultural and horticultural importance especially to
sorghum, groundnut, wheat, chillies, smaller millets,
papaya, mango, guava, etc.
Besides they are a menace to poultry farming as they
take away young chicken and eggs.
It is also a useful scavenger
Crow: Corvussplendens

16. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
It is a grey colouredbird with its neck and upper
breast of a greenish, purple and mangentasheen.
Two dark bars on the wings and a band across the tail
are prominent.
The pigeons can be commonly seen on old buildings,
churches, temples, railway stations, warehouses, etc.
They are well adapted to noisy places.
They fly to threshing floors, grain fields, and pick up
grains.
Since they fly in large numbers, the losses are higher.
Pigeon: Columba livia

17. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Bulbul is found throughout India.
They are common in gardens and light
scrub jungles, both near and away from
human habitations.
Large numbers collect to feed on grain
crops, newly sprouting vegetables and
fruits and termite swarms.
Bulbul: Pycnonotuscafer

18. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Insectsformmajorsourceofnaturalfoodforbirds.Manyordersofthesebirdsfeed
entirelyoninsects.Thislistincludesswifts,nightjars,drangos,beeeaters,pittas,tits,
woodpeckers,swallows,babblers,flycatchers,wagtailsandpipits
Severalspeciesofbulbuls,mynasandstarlings,rollersandhoopoesareinsectivores.
Otherbirdslikekingfishers,storks,herans,egrets,lapwings,kites,falcons,eagles,
merlins,terns,owls,blackbirds,chats,thrushes,cuckoos,koels,malkohas,magpies,
treecreepers,robins,fowls,jays,minivets,chloropses,pastorsandotheralsomake
insectspartoftheirdiet.
Evensuchbirdslikesparrows,bayasandmuniasfeedtheirchickswithintectdiet.It
wasobservedthateventhenectarfeedingsunbirdsfeedonmanysoftbodiedinsects
suchasscales,aphidsandpsyllids.
Insectivorous birds

19. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Undernaturalconditionsvariousspeciesofwood
peckerscouldcontrolfollowing,barkandstem
borerseffectivelysuchascerambycidborerswhich
attackmango,jack,cashew,citrusspecies,silk
cotton,ornamentaltrees.
Woodpeckersalsodestroybarkborers(caterpillars
ofIndarbelatetraonisandIndarbelaquadrinotata)
whichattackbarksandbarktissuesofmango,jack,
sapotaandotherornamentaltrees.
Woodpeckersalsodestroyarborealtermitestoa
largerextent.
Wood peckers

20. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Commoncrow(Corvussplendens)and
Junglecrow(Corvusmacrorhynchos)
havegreatpotentialinmanagingthe
Cassiodefoliator.
Leafwebbersofmangoandsapotaare
oftencheckedbytheseinsectfeeding
birds
Common crows

21. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Include babblers, mynas, nightjars, crows, pheasants, partidges, quails,
lapwings drangos, rollers, robing, magpie robin, herons and egrets, hoopoes,
wagtails, pipits, thrushes, jungle fowls, peafowls, pittas, snipes and frogmouths.
Birds feeding on terrestrial and other soil inhabiting pests
Bee eaters, drangosand fly catchers are more harmful to honey bees and cause
problems to commercial apiculture by heavy predation of honey bees
Birds feeding on airborne and other flying insects

22. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Locusts
•Locusts –Species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididaethat have a
swarming phase (Gregarious phase)
•The forms solitaria(remains scattered) and gregaria(remain in groups) are connected
by intermediate forms termed transiens
•Three major species in India
•Dessert locust –Schistoceragregaria
•Bombay locust –Patangasuccinata
•Migratory locust –Locustamigratoria

23. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
•Thematurefemaledrillsaholeinthe
moistsandyarea,laystheeggsina
clusterandcoversthemwithafrothy
secretion
•Afemalemayovipositthriceat
weeklyintervalandinasquaremeter
area1000podscanbenoticed
•Afterhatching,thereare5nymphal
instarswhichturnsintoadultsin4-6
weeks
•Adultsswarminlargenumbersand
settleonvegetationanddestroythe
standingcrop

24. Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)

25. Locustsarevoraciousfeeders,eachadult,consumingownweightofvegetation
daily.
Management
Swarmmonitoring
•Geographicinformationsystem(GIS)whichcombinesmanylayersofdataon
locusts/grasshoppersandtheirhabitatstoprovidemoreaccurateforecasts
Breedingsites(ScheduledDesertArea)
•Earthing-upanddestructionofeggpodsduringwinterseason,astheincubation
periodisprolongedto70days
Curativemeasures
•Blanketspraysofinsecticidesasbarriertreatmentsforcontrolofhopperbandsof
locusts.Flamethrowerscanbeused.
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)