Abstract

Termites cause considerable damage to some of the forest tree crops, such as eucalypts, in India. Though incidence of termite attack has been reported in a few other tree species such as poplars, pines etc., termites have not attained pest status in most of them. Most of the damage to the crop by termites occurs either in nurseries or in young plantations. In the case of eucalypts, young and healthy seedlings are killed by subterranean root feeding termites within a few months after planting out. Older trees remain practically unattacked. Though over 280 spp. of termites have been recorded in India, only about 40 spp. seem to be of concern as pests of forest plantation crops. Control of termites is usually achieved by the application of soil insecticides. Replacing chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides with less persistent insecticides is an option that needs to be investigated