Insect Pests of Castor (Ricinus communis L) and their Management Strategies

Abstract

Castor is an industrially important non-edible oilseed crop belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae. Development of location-specific varieties and hybrids with appropriate crop production technologies led to increased production and productivity of the crop. However, cultivation of the crop under input-intensive conditions resulted in increased vulnerability of the high yielding cultivars to a multitude of insect pests attacking the crop at all phenological stages and includes seedling pests, foliage feeders and inflorescence pests. The red hairy caterpillar in endemic areas, the defoliators, viz., castor semilooper, Spodoptera and other hairy caterpillars, and sucking pests, such as jassid, whitefly, thrips and mites, cause huge damage to castor crop. Yield loss estimates indicate a reduction of seed yield up to 35-50% depending on the crop growth stage and the pest outbreak. Several insect pest management tactics are being developed for control of the major pests and includes cultural, biological, insecticidal and combinations of two or more methods, which are employed at three stages of prevention, observation, and intervention. In the recent past, attempts are directed towards formulation of potent microbial pesticides besides development of genetically modified castor. This chapter deals with the biology of major insects attacking castor along with the control methods being adopted, and gaps in the knowledge of pest management strategies that need to be addressed are discussed.