Suggestion to Mr.Amir Khan, Cine actor, on the topic “Toxic Food in our food plate” in 'Satyamevajeyate' - TV episode on 24-6-2012:

Maintain 'Soil health'

for your 'Body health'

'Soil health' is 'Nation's wealth'

Mr.Aamir, you have ignited a spark!. No Doubt.

But, asking farmers to switch over to "Organic Agriculture" and discussing merits of the case in one Television episode is not enough.

This kind of mass awakening is necessary but to sustain the interest and to make it to reality, the root cause of the problem has to be identified.

Fancy phrases like 'Organic agriculture’ ‘Chemical agriculture’ ‘Biotech agriculture’ ‘Zero budget farming’ ‘Do Nothing farming’ Etc., Etc., are doing the rounds now. Basic concept of all is about the importance of Organic carbon content in soil for sustainable agriculture.

The problem in India is lower Organic Carbon content of soil resulting in lower productivity.The remedy is to adopt 'AGROFORESTRY' in a meaningful way, to increase 'Organic Matter (OM) and Organic Carbon (OC) of farm soil without any major effort. The increased OC and OM in the soil naturally increases its productivity without any usage of Chemical Fertilizers.

My detailed presentation on the above can be seen in the link: Agroforestry. 

Yes! it is possible to check the amount of toxic food to enter your plate.

Regards,

A.Vishnu Sankar

vishnusankar@ymail.com

http://agrowmania.blogspot.in/

Disease management in Casuarina

Disease in Casuarina Nursery:

(Pictures and content courtesy: Dr.V.Mohan, IFGTB, Coimbatore)

Damping-off in Casuarina:

It is a most prevalent disease in Casuarina nurseries world over and highly destructive & cause heavy loss of seedlings.

Causative organisms: Pythium, Phytophthora, Fusarium and Rhizoctonia.

Causes:

(1)High soil temperature,

(2)Excessive soil moisture,

(3)High soil pH (alkaline),

(4)High nitrogen content,

(5)Low light intensity due to shading,

(6)Stiffy or clayey soil with poor drainage, dense sowing.

Major diseases in Casuarina plantations: (Subject courtesy: FCRINAIP)

The casuarina plantation are found vulnerable to various diseases viz., stem canker and die back, pink disease, root infection and die back and wilt. The stem canker and die back can be controled by the application of Bavistan at 0.01 per cent active ingredients.

Wilt disease caused by Trichosporium is a serious disease and could be managed with proper soil and water management. Severely damaged trees have to be uprooted immediately to avoid further spreading.

S.No.	Common disease	Control Measure
1.	Damping off	Providing proper drainage Seed treatment with captan or thiram @ 4g/kg. Soil drenching with carbendazim @ 0.1 %
2.	Stem canker	Spray with mancozeb @ 0.25 %
3.	Die back	Removal of infected plant parts and spray with mancozeb @ 0.25 % or copper oxy chloride @ 0.25 %.
4.	Pink disease	Removal of severely affected plant parts or Scrap the infected portions and apply with Bordeaux Paste.
5.	Wilt disease	Remove the infected trees immediately.  Digging the trenches around the infected tree. Scrap the infected portion and spray with copper oxy chloride @ 0.25 %.

The picture below illustrates Blister bark disease of Casuarina may be caused after the attack by pests or after mechanical injury.  Picture Courtesy:

To know more about disease management please visit this link: 

Ppt presentation on Management of Pests and Diseases by Dr.Balu, a 

renowned Entomologist and Dr.V.Mohan, Pathologist, Forest Protection 

Division, IFGTB, Coimbatore. Slide number 34 to 47 are primarily about 

'Disease Management' authored by Dr.V.Mohan. 

The above Ppt presentation is also uploaded in top right side of this blog  

which can be used as a ready reckoner by our readers for the control of 

Insects and diseases in almost all the crops. 

My sincere thanks to Dr.V.Mohan, IFGTB on behalf of all our readers for 

providing us with all the details and pictures.

Regards,

A.Vishnu Sankar

Insect pests of Casuarina

Dear Friends,

In this third part of the series about pests, I have borrowed Pics from Dr.Balu, Entomologist, Forest Protection Division, IFGTB, Coimbatore and text content from Forest College and Research Institute, Mettupalayam to explain about 'Pests of Casuarina'. (FCRI, Link on Major pests of Casuarina ).

Major Pests of Casuarina:
A bark feeding caterpillar is a major problem which results in heavy damage of trees due to the cylindrical tunnels created within the wood. Control of the pest is difficult, however application of one or two ml of kerosene in to the tunnel is found effective. Monocrotophos @ 5 ml per tree as bark padding method would be also be an effective chemical control.

Important pests and their control measures

S.No.	Common pest	Control Measure
1.	Bag worm	Topical application endosulfan or  chlorlpyriphos 2ml/litre.
2.	Bark feeding  caterpillar	Remove the feeding galleries and apply insecticide soaked cotton  (15ml of dichlorvos) in the bore holes.
3.	Stem borer	Inserting wire to remove feeding  larvae and applying  insecticide soaked  cotton (15ml of dichlorvos).
4.	Mealy bug	Topical application of methyl dematon or  dimethoate (2ml per litre)
5.	Termite	Application for chlorlpyriphos 2 ml per litre

Termites also cause serious damage in young plantation by destroying the root system leading to the death of young trees. This can be arrested by soil drenching with chlorpyriphos  at  0.2 per cent.

Understanding their behaviour: Termites feed on dead organic material and when this is not available they will eat live plant material like roots and barks of live plants. So. it is an indication to the farmer that soil health is deteriorating and there is a need to increase organic matter in it.  

(Click on the pictures below to have an enlarged view).

Termite attack on Casuarina:

Sap suckers on Casuarina: Scales and Mealy bugs:

 Defoliators on Casuarina:Caterpillars and Bag worms

 Defoliators on Casuarina: Needle feeders:

 Defoliators on Casuarina: Needle miners:

 Bark feeders on Casuarina: 

The picture below illustrates Blister bark disease of Casuarina may be caused after the attack by pests or after mechanical injury.  Picture Courtesy:

Nematode attack:

Casuarina roots are susceptible to infection by nematodes. There are many varieties in Nematode pests like: Lesion nematode, Lance nematode, Reniform nematode, Root knot nematode and Cyst nematode.

Control measures:

1)   Soil application of 10 gms each of VAM culture, Paecilomyces, Pseudomonas fluorescens and  Trichoderma viride at the pit at the time of planting will greatly reduce nematode population.

(or)

2)    Apply carbofuran 3 G @ 5 gm (or) Cartop 2 gm per pit at the time of planting and another application after 2 months.

(or)

3)      Nematode infestation in trees of 2 to 3 years age can be controlled by applying 10 gm of Carbofuran / tree, 1 feet away from the base in a circular fashion.   

TNAU recommendations for Nematode control:

1)      Apply pressmud at 15 t/ha or poultry manure at 2 t/ha or neem cake 2 t/ha or before last ploughing in garden lands.

2) Under wetland conditions, intercropping sunnhemp or marigold or daincha coupled with application of pressmud 25 t/ha or neem cake 2 t/ha.

3) Crop rotation for 3 years with Marigold or gingelly or sunnhemp for nematode control.

To know about Mechanical, Cultural, Behavioural, Botanical, Biological and 

Chemical control of all the above Sucking pests and leaf eating caterpillars 

please visit: Ppt presentation on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) by 

(the same author) Dr.Balu, a renowned Entomologist. 

The above Ppt presentation is also uploaded in top right side of this blog 

which can be used as a ready reckoner by our readers for the control of 

Insects and diseases in almost all the crops. 

Regards,

A.Vishnu Sankar.

Insect pests of Gmelina arborea (Kumil in Tamil)

Dear Friends,

We all accept the adage that 'A picture is worth more than a thousand words'. This preamble is necessary since this post bear more photos and a few words. 

As in my earlier post, here also I heavily relied on the photographs and subject content of Dr.Balu, Scientist, Forest Protection Division, IFGTB, Coimbatore on 'Insect pests of Gmelina arborea' (Kumil in Tamil).

Insect pests are broadly classified as:

• Defoliators  
• Leaf miners  
• Sapsuckers
• Gall makers
• Root feeders
• Shoot borers
• Bark feeders   

In general, Gmelina arborea (Kumil) is susceptible to pest attack, hence  farmers avoid planting them as inter crop inside orchards. One of the main causes of Gmelina arborea's poor bole form attributes to this high incidence of pest attack. 
Some of the insects that cause damage to Gmelina arborea (Kumil) plantation are discussed here under:
Leaf Miners:
Leaf miner is larva of an insect that lives in and eats the leaf tissue of plants. For more info: Click.  

Sap Suckers:

Organisms involved:

Aphids, Psyllids (Jumping plant lice), Plant bugs, Scales, Mealy bugs, leaf hoppers, thrips, Whitefly and mites.

Damage caused:

Chlorosis,

curling and bunching,

yellowing and withering of leaves,

wilting and drying of entire seedlings.

Inject toxic salivary secretions and responsible for spread of viral, fungal, mycoplasmal and bacterial diseases. 

In farmer's meetings (and nowadays in many Agri portals also) most of the Gmelina (Kumil) growers used to lament that growing tip (Young shoot) of young Gmelina plants got dried up resulting in growth retardation and branching.

Root cause of this attack is usually by the Tingid bug shown in the picture below. It sucks the sap from the leaves and young shoots resulting in curling, drying and withering of not only leaves but also tender shoot tips. Farmer  may incur severe economic loss if this bug attack is not managed well properly.   

Defoliators:

Organisms involved:

            Caterpillars, Bagworms, Beetles and Weevils,

            Grass hoppers and Slugs.

Damage caused:

            Feed on growing points of plants,

            Feed on entire leaves, 

            Feed on surface tissue,

            Notch the edge of leaves,

            Leaves riddled with smaller to larger irregular holes, 

            Roll up and web the leaves and feed. 

            Browse the bark,

            Cut the stem.

Wing/Wingless Grosshoppers:

Borers:

•         Shoot borer

•         Bark feeding borer/feeder

•         Stem borer

•         Stem and root borer

Goats likes to eat the bark of Gmelina, resulting in permanent injury to the stem. In the picture published here, the damage is caused by Bear. One of the effective ways to ward off animals in the unfenced farm land is by applying fresh cow dung + cow urine mixture on the stem upto a height of 5 feet.  

On field trials in my farm, I found out that Entomopathogenic fungi: either

Beauveria bassiana or Metarhyzium anisopliae in association with Verticillium lecanii  were pathogenic to all pests of Gmelina. Beauveria bassiana was found to be more effective than Metarhizium anisopliae. 

Click on the names to learn more about these bio-control agents.

Trials were conducted in my Acid Lime orchards and Moringa orchards (Drumstick tree) also. A minimum of two to three sprays is necessary for complete control of pests. Subsequently, the number of spray applications (No. of cycles) per season will come down and you will be surprised to observe that there is increase in time between spray cycles also.  

To know about Mechanical, Cultural, Behavioural, Botanical, Biological and 

Chemical control of all the above Sucking pests and leaf eating caterpillars 

please visit: Ppt presentation on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) by 

(the same author) Dr.Balu, a renowned Entomologist. The above Ppt

presentation is also uploaded in top right side of this blog which can be 

used as a ready reckoner by our readers for the control of Insects and 

diseases in almost all the crops. 

Regards,

A.Vishnu Sankar.