N Save Nature to Survive 9(4): 1375-1381, 2014 www.thebioscan.in 1375 INSECT-PEST COMPLEX OF FLEMINGIA SEMIALATA ROXB - A BUSHY HOST FOR LAC CULTIVATION S. C. MEENA, K. K. SHARMA, A. MOHANASUNDARAM, SWETA VERMA AND MD. MONOBRULLAH Lac Production Division, Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums, Namkum - 834 010, Ranchi e-mail: scmeena.iinrg@gmail.com INTRODUCTION Lac, a natural resin produced by the tiny lac insect Kerria lacca (Kerr) (Hemiptera: Tachardiidae) is considered as an important income-generating produce for rural people in eastern India, particularly for the tribal communities residing in and around forest areas. India is the largest producer of lac in the world and the average national production of sticklac during last five years (2007-08 to 2011-12) is 16,249 tons. Contribution of Jharkhand in national lac production is about 57.20 per cent followed by Chhattisgarh (17.87%), West Bengal (7.82%), Madhya Pradesh (7.26%) and Maharashtra. These five states contribute around 95.45 per cent of the national lac production (Pal et al., 2013). Lac cultivation is generally carried out on a limited number of indigenous tree species i.e., kusum (Schleichera oleosa Oken), palas (Butea monosperma Taub), ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lam) etc., found scattered in forests and cultivable land. These plant species take years for establishment whereas bushy hosts like Flemingia semialata Roxb. (Family: Fabaceae) can be utilized for lac cultivation after one year of planting. F. semialata is commonly known as Winged Stalked Flemingia (known as Bara solpan, Ban chola in Hindi and as Marotonoya in Oriya) but among the lac growers it is popular as semialata. Winged stalked Flemingia is an erect shrub with dense hairs on young branches. Leaves are trifoliate and flowering starts in August-September. It is a small bushy shrub and a valuable host plant for lac insect (Kerria lacca Kerr), is mainly grown for kusmi lac cultivation. Globally, it is planted for conservation of soil and as a fodder crop. Semialata is economically important because it is a bushy host of perennial nature suitable for kusmi lac cultivation. Lac cultivation can be done by women as all operations can be carried out from ground level. It is suitable for integrated farming systems with fruit and vegetable crops without any problem. Also being a leguminous crop, it fixes the atmospheric nitrogen into the soil. Semialata, not being a plant of commercial importance except for lac cultivation, information available on insect pests of F. semialata is meagre. Earlier reported pests of this crop include only Lawana conspersa by Mohanasundaram et al., 2012. Looking on importance in lac cultivation, knowledge of the insect-pests of this shrub merits attention, so that resurgence of any one of the pests may not become a cause of serious concern, affecting adversely the lac production. Not much information is available on insect-pests of semialata plant. Therefore, this study was planned to record the insect pests of semialata plant so that preventive measures can be taken well in advance to avoid any crop damage. MATERIALS AND METHODS To document the insect pests of semialata plant, similar method was followed as adopted by Tara et al., 2013. For this, Lac Integrated Farming System (LIFS) plot at Institute Research Farm of Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums, Ranchi was monitored regularly from July, 2011 to April, 2012 either daily or at an interval of 1-2 days for the incidence of insect-pests of F. semialata. The immature stages of the pests were collected for rearing in the laboratory. The collected adult insects were also killed in ethyl acetate, mounted either on insect pins or paper points depending on its size and labelled properly. They were preserved in boxes using naphthalene balls as ABSTRACT Flemingia semialata Roxb., a small bushy shrub is a valuable host plant for lac insect, Kerria lacca (Kerr), is mainly grown for kusmi lac cultivation. Globally, it is planted for conservation of soil and as a fodder crop. Not much information is available on insect- pests of semialata plant. Therefore, a study was planned to document the insect pests of semialata plant. A pest complex of about 32 insect pests belonging to six orders and 20 families has been recorded. All the major parts of this legume plant viz. pod/seed, leaf, stem and root were found to be infested but most of the insects were foliage feeders. Out of 32 insects-pests, 23 have been recorded as foliage feeders, 7 as sap suckers and one each as pod and root feeders. KEYWORDS Lac insect Flemingia semialata Insect-pest complex Received on : 03.04.2014 Accepted on : 18.10.2014 *Corresponding author