Management

• Wilting of plants in patches.
• Bore holes on pods and damage soft tissues causing scarification.
• Damage weaken the shells and make them liable to grow Aspergillus flavus that produces aflotoxins.

Identification of the pest

• Egg: White or light yellow Colored and kidney shaped.
• Workers: Small (4 mm), wingless and have soft white body with a brown head.
• Soldiers: Whitish, wingless, larger than the workers with brownish head and strong jaws.
• Adult: Cream coloured tiny insects resembling ants with dark coloured head.
• Social insects, live in termatoria with distinct castes, workers, king and queen.
• Endemic in red and sandy soils

1. Summer ploughing and digging the termatoria and destroy the mounds in the field to expose termites to sun and predators.
2. Apply well rotten organic manure to reduce termite incidence.
3. Irrigate the crop frequently at severe infestation.
4. Harvest the groundnut crop at right maturity to reduce the chances of termite damage to pods.
5. Destruction of plant residues and debris in termite attacked fields after harvest.
6. Apply thiamethoxam 75 SG@ @ 50 g/ac