1Cardamom Research Station, Kerala Agricultural University, Pampadumpara, Idukki685553, Kerala, India
2Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur PO, Bengaluru560064, Karnataka, India
*Email: nafeesa.m@kau.in (corresponding author):
Massive infestation of the native land snail species Tanychlamys indica Godwin-Austen, 1883 (Gastropoda: Ariophantidae), is reported on small cardamom [Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton; Zingiberaceae]. Several plantations in major cardamom-growing areas in the Cardamom Hill Reserves (CHR), Kerala, were infested with T. indica. The pest feeds on the flowers and flower buds of the cardamom panicles. The infestation was confirmed both in the fields and in laboratory observations. In heavily infested plantations, 12 to 43 snails were recorded per cardamom clump in and around the panicles. Damaged flowers were avoided by pollinating honey bees, thereby leading to a reduction in fertilization and capsule formation. This is the first report of T. indica infestation on cardamom and its massive occurrence in the CHR system
Mollusca, snail, Tanychlamys indica, pest, Elettaria cardamomum, infestation, damage, Western Ghats, Cardamom Hill Reserves
