Abstract

Lac a natural resin of animal origin that comes from an apple seed size insect Kerria lacca Kerr. (Tachardiidae: Homoptera). Traditionally lac is commercially cultivated on traditional hosts like Kusum (Schleichera oleosa), Palas (Butea monosperma) and Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana). To overcome the problems of long gestation period, scattered distribution and high crown of these traditional hosts, considerable efforts were made to explore suitable non-traditional host plants of short gestation period and low crown. In this context, non-traditional host species like Flemingia macrophylla and F. semialata was explored as intercrop in understorey of Dalbergia sissoo and control condition to check the possibility of cultivating Jethwi lac crop. Survival rate of F. macrophylla and F. semialata was 96%, 84.5% and 100%, 98% under control and experimental conditions with 4.49, 4.21 and 2.77, 1.69 average number of shoots respectively. Mean performance of plant height under control was 50% and 30% more than experimental condition in F. macrophylla and F. semialata respectively. The length of settlement was more than 86% (F. macrophylla) and 70% (F. semialata). Average density of settlement is more than 82 number of insects/cm² in F. macrophylla and 97 number of insects/cm² in F. semialata at both 21 and 75 days after inoculation. In general Male Female ratio was higher in F. semialata than F. macrophylla. Female number is on par under both the conditions in F. semialata; whereas, in F. macrophylla female number is high under experimental than control condition. Lac shell weight was higher under experimental condition and number of insects was more under control conditions on both hosts. Irrespective of the host plant, control condition yielded more scrap lac than experimental condition.

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