Bamboo Diseases and Control
Bamboo seedlings in nurseries, plantations as well as in natural stands are prone to various diseases like rot and blight of emerging culms, foliage blight, rust etc. The rot of tender emerging succulent culms is reported in different bamboo species. This mainly occurs due to heavy rainfall during and after the emergence of culm, water logging around the clump, mining insect activity, and poor stand management.
Silvicultural measures recommended for controlling the disease include cutting and removing blighted culms, burning the debris of clumps in situ, and addition of new soil around clumps. Light surface fire (control burning) before the onset of monsoon is suggested for reducing the disease incidence. Proper clump management strategies like removal of debris around the clumps before the onset of monsoon, light burning of the debris over the ground, loosening the soil around the clump before culm emergence, and pruning and removal of branches from the basal part of the older culms during March-April can be done.
The important diseases affecting bamboos both in nurseries and natural stands, its casual agents, symptoms, and control measures are given below:
Diseases in Nurseries
Diseases in strands
Bamboo Pests and Control
Some insects such as scales, mealybugs, and mites target bamboo exclusively. Others, such as aphids do not discriminate. These insects feed on the plant and weaken it, making it susceptible to other issues like mould and rot.
The important pests affecting bamboos both in nurseries and natural stands, its casual agents, symptoms, and control measures are given below:
- Dinoderus (D. minutus, D. ocellaris, D. brevis) beetles
- Lyctus africanus, L. brunneus and Minthea rugicollis
- The termite species Cryptotermes dudleyi, Odontotermes feae, Copototermes heimi, Microtermes fletcheri
- Udonga montana seed pest
- The leaf-feeding insects: the defoliators of bamboo are Eumorphobotys obscuralis, Crocidophora evenoralis, Eumorphobotys obscuralis, Circobotys aurealis, Crocidophora evenoralis, Demobotys pervulgaris etc.
- Destructive leaf rolling pests: (Algedonia coclesalis Walker (syn. Pyrausta coclesalis, Crypsiptya coclesalis)
- The Mealy bug (Asterolecanium bambusae), Whitefly (Aleyrocanthus arundinaceae), Bamboo Aphid (Oregma bambusae), Fulgorid hopper (Purohita cervine), Coreid bug (Notobitus meleagris)
- The shoot boring insects: bamboo hispine beetle (Estigmena chinensis), important shoot boring pests are Cyrtotrachelus buqueti, Crytotrachelus longimanus, Crytotrachelus dux, Myocalandra exarata.
