© 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Rodent control in India
Eighteen species of rodents are pests in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, animal and human dwellings and rural and urban storage facilities in India. Their habitat, distribution, abundance and economic significance varies in different crops, seasons and geographical regions of the country. Of th...
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| Language: | English |
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1996
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.611.1538 http://projects.nri.org/bandicoot/docs/rodent_control_in_india.pdf |
| Summary: | Eighteen species of rodents are pests in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, animal and human dwellings and rural and urban storage facilities in India. Their habitat, distribution, abundance and economic significance varies in different crops, seasons and geographical regions of the country. Of these, Bandicota bengalensis is the most predominant and widespread pest of agriculture in wet and irrigated soils and has also established in houses and godowns in metropolitan cities like Bombay, Delhi and Calcutta. In dryland agriculture Tatera indica and Meriones hurrianae are the predominant rodent pests. Some species like Rattus meltada, Mus musculus and M. booduga occur in both wet and dry lands. Species like R. nitidus in north-eastern hill region and Gerbillus gleadowi in the Indian desert are important locally. The common commensal pests are Rattus rattus and M. musculus throughout the country including the islands. R. rattus along with squirrels Funambulus palmarum and F. tristriatus are serious pests of plantation crops such as coconut and oil palm in the southern peninsula. F. pennanti is abundant in orchards and gardens in the north and central plains and sub-mountain regions. Analysis of the information available on the damage and economic losses caused by rodents in rice, wheat, sugarcane, maize, pearl millet, sorghum, oil seed, legume and vegetable crop fields, horticulture and forestry, poultry farms, and rural and urban dwellings and storage facilities clearly shows that chronic damage ranging from 2 % to 15 % persists throughout the country and severe damage |
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