The floral industry grapples with challenges like changing climatic scenarios, differences in market trends, rising costs, and severe losses posed by insect pests. The management of dipteran pests encompassing diverse species, such as leaf min...

A survey was conducted to study the distribution of termites in Vayalogam soil series, red sandy loam soil in Tamil Nadu, India. Among the termites collected from eleven places in Pudukottai district, Tamil Nadu all under one genera and three species, the predominant species was Odontotermus wallonensis (Wasmann) which was noticed in seven locations followed by O. assmuthi in three locations and O.obesus in one location. Further, an abundance of O. wallonensis was high (64.64%) followed by O. assmuthi (27.27%.) and O. obesus (9.90%.). The termite, O. wallonensis was recorded more in moundscompared to O. assmuthi and O. obesus, whereas in tree wood logs, three termite species were found. Among the avenue trees, pungam recorded less damage (7.25%) followed by jack trees (10.25%), Polyalthia (15.50%), tamarind (23.50%) and neem and eucalyptus (32.55 and 37.50%). In field crops termite damage was less in maize (5.75%), groundnut (10.25 %), and sugarcane (10.25%). The highest damage was recorded in jack fruit at seedling stage (46.50%) cultivated in Vayalogam soil series. The termite attack was not observed in field crops viz., pulses, castor, brinjal and chilli. termite species

Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), a key plantation crop in India, contributes significantly to the national economy. Despite high productivity, coconut farmers face challenges including fragmented landholdings and biotic stress, necessitating the adoption of intercropping systems to improve land use efficiency and profitability. Intercropping shade-tolerant tuber crops like Chinese potato (Plectranthus rotundifolius), particularly in the underutilized interspaces of coconut plantations, offers multiple agronomic and economic benefits. An experiment was conducted during the 2024-25 kharif season in Theni district, Tamil Nadu, to evaluate the performance of 40 Chinese potato germplasms under an 8-year-old coconut plantation. The study followed a randomized block design with three replications. Data on growth and yield parameters such as number of branches, days to flowering, tuber dimensions, tuber count and fresh tuber weight were recorded and statistically analyzed. Germplasm PKM-CP-2 exhibited superior performance in tuber length, width, number and yield (333.8 g plant-1), followed by PKM-CP-10, PKM-CP-4 and PKM-CP-8. In contrast, PKM-CP-23 consistently showed the lowest performance across several traits. The results suggest substantial genotypic variation among germplasms, with certain accessions demonstrating promising yield potential for intercropping systems. The study highlights the viability of integrating Chinese potato as a high-value secondary crop in coconut plantations, providing enhanced income opportunities for smallholder farmers and optimizing resource utilization. Further exploration of high-performing germplasms could support commercialization and diversification in coconut-based farming systems.

Coconut is an important plantation crop in India. Many diseases severely impact coconut trees in the current climate change scenario, declining the vigor and yield of palms and deteriorating the quality of nuts on the trees. Basal stem rot caused by Ganoderma spp. is one of the most destructive diseases of coconut. Ganoderma can endure an extended period in the soil as a soil-borne pathogen. Chlamydospores are formed under unfavourable conditions, helping the pathogen's survival and spread of the disease. Rain and irrigation water also contribute to the spread from one field to another. This study assessed coconut consortia's efficiency in combating the basal stem rot disease at the field level. The experimental trial was conducted at Tittuvillai village of Thovalai panchayat, Kanyakumari district, from 2021–2022 to 2023–2024 for three consecutive years with four treatments and seven replications. The palms exhibiting the typical symptom were selected, and the experiment was started in 2021. A total of 28 palms displaying basal stem rot symptoms were randomly selected for the experiment. Four treatments were imposed, and the details of treatments include T1: Drenching of Coconut consortia (TNAU Cococon) @ 2 liters/palm along with application of mycorrhizae @ 100 g/palm at quarterly interval, T2: Drenching of Coconut consortia (TNAU Cococon) @ 2 litres/palm and root feeding with hexaconazole (0.2%) at quarterly interval, T3: Drenching of Bordeaux mixture 1% and T4: Control (Untreated). Among the four treatments, soil drenching of coconut consortia (TNAU Cococon) @ 2 liters/palm followed by root feeding with hexaconazole (0.2%) at quarterly intervals effectively reduced the disease index from 21.74 to 15.96 and enhanced nut yield from 67.14 to 90.00 nuts per palm per year in three years under field conditions.