Aspidiella harttii) is important.The adult (female) scales are circular (about 1mm diameter) in form with light brown to grey colour.
Predominant role
As March-April is the time of harvest in Southern India, management of rhizome scale plays a predominant role in storing the harvested produce.
Use of scale-infected mother rhizome for planting the next crop will definitely reduce the growth and development of crops, resulting in reduction of yield and quality of turmeric.
Pest symptoms
The scale insect infestation is visible as white encrustation on the rhizomes. In the field, it drains the sap from the developing rhizomes. It causes shoots to droop and wilt.
The infestation is carried over from the field to storage where the scales suck away the water content of the rhizomes making them pithy. This results in poor turn out of turmeric powder at milling. The seed rhizomes are also affected.
Management practices
Dipping the seed rhizomes in monocrotophos at 0.05 per cent or quinalphos at 0.1 per cent for 5-15 minutes before storage will effectively control the pest. Discard severely infested rhizomes.
Balakrishnamoorthy. G
& D. Vijayalakshmi/p>
Department of Spices and Plantation Crops Horticultural College & Research Institute Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
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