About Termites or White Ants

Termites are widely distributed in all groundnut growing areas in India. They favor red and sandy soils, and are less of a problem in post-rice groundnut crops and in clayey soils.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Termites live in colonies and these colonies can extend several feet underground. Termites are white translucent ant like insects.

Crop Damage

 Termites can cause damage to groundnut plants in several ways:

• They enter the root system and burrow inside the root and stem; this usually kills the plant.

They bore holes in the pods and damage the seed.

• They remove the soft corky tissue from between the veins of the pods (scarified).
• They do not usually damage the seed. But scarified pods are more susceptible to infestation by Aspergillus fungus, which produces health hazard aflatoxins.

 

 

                       Pods scarified by termites

Management

 

Destroy termite nests by clean cultivation. Seed treatment with Chlorpyriphos. Drenching of termite nests with Chlorpyriphos solution. Application of Carbofuran or Chlorpyriphos to the soil using 1 kg a.i. /ha at planting time can reduce termite incidence.