Impact of Irrigation Levels and Plant Density of Annual Lac insects Host Plant Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. on the Survival of Kerria lacca Kerr

Author: Gopilal Anjana, Moni Thomas, Sahab Kumar Patel, Swarna Kurmi, Deep Kumar Pahalwan, Manish Bhan, Alok Bajpai and Anil Kumar Singh

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Abstract

Doubling of farmers’ income is only possible if farmers diversify their crops to include high-value crops that have better market demand and can fetch higher prices. Lac is a natural resin with high commercial value. Among more than hundred hosts pigeonpea crop can be utilized as a preferred host to get more return in the form of seeds as well as lac resin from the same host. Getting high return from less resources is the fundamental concept behind the concept of Doubling of Farmers’ income. Pigeonpea - a widely cultivated pulse crop in central India is also a good annual host of lac insect (Kerria lacca Kerr.). Lac insect produces lac resin which is a cash crop and export commodity. The present research work was done to evaluate the impact of irrigation levels and spacing of C. cajan on the survival of lac insects. The two year (2020-21 and 2021-22) pooled data analysis revealed an increase in the survival of lac insects with increasing spacing and the amount of irrigation water. The mean live lac insects on C. cajan with interaction of wider spacing (S3) and higher irrigation (W3) at BLI was 174.83 while that of at harvest of lac crop was 67.71.

Keywords

Marginal farmers, resources, survival, sustainability, income

Conclusion

Health of the host plant influences the growth and survival of the phloem feeder. Spacings between and among host plants as well as proper irrigation have positive effects on the health of plants. This may be the reason for higher percent of survival of lac insects in the plant with enough spacing and good irrigation. Irrigation helps in utilization of soil nutrients by plants due to maintenance of proper moisture level for survival of soil microorganisms. This helps to maintain the host plant in good health for the development of settled lac insect.

References

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How to cite this article

Gopilal Anjana, Moni Thomas, Sahab Kumar Patel, Swarna Kurmi, Deep Kumar Pahalwan, Manish Bhan, Alok Bajpai and Anil Kumar Singh (2023). Impact of Irrigation Levels and Plant Density of Annual lac insects Host Plant Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. on the Survival of Kerria lacca Kerr. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(10): 554-561.