Vol. 11, Special Issue 2 (2022)

Author(s):
Mohan C, G Rajeshwar Rao and RK Malviya

Abstract:
The sal heartwood borer,Hoplocerambyx spinicornis Newman (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), commonly known as sal borer, is the most devastating insect pest responsible for catastrophic damage of sal forests of the country. Till date, over 21 epidemics of this borer have been recorded in sal forests of the country. To combat this major pest of sal, “Trap Tree Operation” is used for trapping the beetles. This is an environmentally sound and very effective non-toxic method of control, currently available. The present paper reports the emergence of sal heart wood borer, H. spinicornis and its infestation in sal trees at different forest divisions of Chhattisgarh, during the year 2020- 21. Out of the eight sal forests ranges, Viz., Rengaghar, Taregaon, Amabeda, Bade Rajpur, Kanker, Mainpur, Navagarh and Narayanpur. The sal borer incidence was recorded in eight ranges and there was borer affected trees recorded in amabeda range, were belong to type T1 (1 tree), T2 (2 trees), T4 (2 trees), T5 (3 trees) and T7 (1 tree). The girth class of borer affected trees were recorded 180 cm GBH. Trap tree operation was conducted during the adult emergence period (June-July) in different affected compartments of forest ranges, for its collection. A total number of borer beetles trapped were 27 during the year 2020-21, collected from eight forest ranges. The collection of borer beetles reduced its incidence which reflects the efficiency of tree trap operation in management of H. spinicornis in sal trees.