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White ant termite (Forest pest)
Order: Isoptera.
Family: Termitidae.
Species of White ant termite
1. Microtermes obesi.
2. Odontotermes obesus.
3. Termes taprobanses.
Pest characters of White ant termite
They are social insect and their colony organizations based on a cast system. In a colony, there are numerous workers, one queen and a king and a good number of complementary forms.
Nature of Damage of White ant termite
Termite is widely distributed. In the nursery, this pest attacks the plant from the time of seed germination that of transplanting. Much of the subsequent termite, attack on transplants is due to injury to the roots at the time of lifting. Termites first attack the dead root can continue to feed living tissue when the resistance of the plant is lowered. Attacking a young plant show the outer leaves drying up, which could be easily removed at this stage.
Management/Control Measure of White ant termite
1. Nursery first to be cleaned. The termite nest should be located and destroyed them mechanically.
2. The use of wood ash heaped around the base of tree trunks, or mixed into seedling bedding soil, is reputed to reduce termite attack.
3. Current termite control methods rely largely on the use of persistent organochlorine (cyclodine) insecticides.
Important Agricultural Websites
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