Studies on the Emergence Pattern of Arecanut Root Grub, Leucopholis lepidophora Blanch in Areca Ecosystem

摘要

ARECANUT (Areca catechu L.) is one of the commercial crops and finds a place in all religious, social and cultural functions in India. Preliminary studies on the white grubs affecting arecanut indicated a complex of species of the genus, Leucopholis (Veeresh et al., 1982) of which Leucopholis lepidophora Blanch is the predominant species first reported by Puttarudraiah and Channabasavanna in 1957 in Karnataka, which infests arecanut, coconut, sugarcane, paddy and groundnut and is most dominant in Western Ghat areas of Karnataka and Maharashtra. (Adsule and Patil, 1994; Kumar, 1999; Vijayvergia et al, 2001). In Shimoga district of Karnataka, L. lepidophora is causing severe damage on arecanut, leading to reduction in area, production and productivity of arecanut. The emergence pattern of L. lepidophora is varied with region to region and with other species of root grubs. Hence, the studies were taken up on the emergence pattern in Shimoga district of areca ecosystem.