polygonum being eaten up
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Abali Caterpillar
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Abali caterpillar

caterpillar feeding on polygonum chinense
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ENEMEY of Polygonum chinense

ABALI - the Organic Garden on Vrikshayaurveda

On my visit to Abali last month I was pleasantly surprised seeing a caterpillar feeding only on Polygonum chinense. The rest of the weeds around it were untouched by it. And I found this in a few places. I have brought this caterpillar back and given it to Tea Research Association, Jorhat to identify this caterpillar.
In case anyone has an idea of what this caterpillar is or if they have seen similar ones in their gardens, please get back to me/TRA.
I am attaching a couple of photographs on this blog

Organic Conference -4th July2006

There is an Organic Tea conference coming up in Dibrugarh, Assam, INDIA on the 4th of July. It is going to be differen to most Organic Tea conferences as it is dealing with Vrikshayurveda. I have visited Abali T.Estate where this is being practiced and have since got involved in this. There are a lot of books on this published by the Asian Agri-History Foundation based in Secundarabad, Andhra, INDIA.
I append a copy of the invitation giving some details about it:-

I N V I T A T I O N


CONFERENCE ON " ORGANIC TEA CULTIVATION " – VRIKSHAYURVEDA : THE ANCIENT SCIENCE OF PLANT LIFE, AT DIBRUGARH

Dear Sir,

You are cordially invited to attend Organic Tea Conference / Workshop on Tuesday 4th July 2006 at Surajmal Jalan Auditorium, Medical College Road, Dibrugarh, Assam.

The Speakers will be:

1. Introduction.
2. Swami Valmiki, Abali, Roing, Arunachal Pradesh.
3. Dr. N. Ghosh Hajra, Tea Board of India, Kurseong, Darjelling. 4. Mr Harkirath Singh Siddhu, Senior Tea Planter.
5. Dr Nandini Shah
6. Dr Anjali Pathak, on Agnihotra farming.

The Program is as follows:

04/07/06 Conference 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM at Jalan Auditorium including tea and lunch.
05/07/06 Visit to Abali Organic Tea Estate in Arunachal Pradesh and overnight stay at Abali / Roing (optional). Visit organized at Organizers cost.
06/07/06 Visit Abali Organic Tea Estate and afternoon return back to Dibrugarh (optional).

You are welcome to visit Abali Organic Tea Estate in Arunachal Pradesh on 5th and 6th July, please let us know in advance so that we can make arrangements.

For further enquiry please contact us.

Thanking you,


(Binod Saharia)
Abali Tea Estate
Chottagola
A.T.Road, Dibrugarh 786001 Assam

Phone: (M) 09435031097 (O) 0373-2302930 2300495
Email: http://f2mail.rediff.com/bn/compose.cgi?login=teatechoutsourcing&session_id=2K1KCK1mf8UO3BooUEL4s4MnEFVU&FormName=mail_to_individual&email=binod57@yahoo.com

Looper caterpillar attack - what to do now

1st June 2006
Looper Caterpillar - Buzura(Biston)suppressaria Guen

I have had requests from certain gardens for advise on what action estates need to take now to prevent the next brood from causing massive damage to their plantations. They apparently had a very severe attack of looper a month or two ago that caused massive damage.
Suggestion:
From the 1st week July keep a regular vigil on fresh occurrence in areas where this attack had occurred. When the eggs hatch and the caterpillars are young it is the best time to hit them. How do you know when this is about to happen ? As soon as you start seeing moths coming to lights, remember they have just finished laying their eggs and so the hatching will take place within a fortnight. So keep a very close watch in those areas; within 20 days from when you see the moths you will start noticing the small holes along margins of young leaves. As soon as you notice 15% of the bushes with some of this damage, it is time to thoroughly spray that full patch.
Spray any recommended insecticide but ensure that the spray penetrates deep into the canopy and also gets onto the low hanging side branches. I, however, prefer using neem formulations as soon as 5% (instead of 15%) damage is noticed as this works well against the juvenile caterpillars. If however you get a little late in spotting it then use Bacillus thuringiensis as this works brilliantly. If by the time you spot it the caterpillars are fully matured you may use a synthetic parathyroid for 1 round.

In mid-August again repeat the same vigil as the next brood will be ready to attack.
Points to note:
a) Light traps / Pest-o-Flash’ are no good for control but good for monitoring population: pairing of moths takes place on the day of emergence. And the laying of eggs starts from the very next day. So by the time they come to the trap they have already laid their eggs.
b) Collection of chrysalides- between March & April or between October & December. The pupa is brown /dark brown with serrated ridges 1 on each side and is aprox 2 to 2.5 cm long. It can be collected by light forking around the collar region of the affected bushes ( 2.5 to 5 cms deep in the soil)
c) If the attack has been severe and a lot of defoliation has taken place, it is a must to add back the lost Maintenance Foliage.