Eucalyptus gall wasp – Leptocybe invasa

Biology

• Adult wasp is brown in colour with slight blue to green metallic shine
• Larva develops inside the midrib or petiole or stem axis
• Life cycle from egg to adult (130 days)

Nature of damage

• Characteristic cylindrical gall develops on young stem or petioles or midrib
• Damage to growing shoot tip and quick abscission of leaves and drying of shoots
• Infested growing shoot terminals and midrib enlarge in thickness and leaves contorted appearance

 Management

• Providing nutritional supplements like salicylic acid @ 500 ppm and vermiwash @ 50 ml /root trainer or DAP @ 10gm/lit of water
• Use of yellow and green coloured sticky traps
• Spraying of Imidacloprid @ 1ml/lit or dimethoate @ 2ml/lit

Termite – Odontotermes sp.
Biology

• Cream coloured, tiny insects resembling ants with dark coloured head

Nature of damage

• Causes ring barking of the tap root resulting in death of the plants

Management

• Avoid water stress conditions
• Soil drenching with Chlorpyriphos 25 EC – 2ml/lit