Assessment of Rose-Ringed Parakeets (Psittaculakrameri) damage in Guava (Psidiumguajava) orchard

The Rose-ringed parakeets (Psittaculakrameri) are serious bird pests of Ber (Zizyphusmauritiana) fruits at Rajendranagar, Hyderabad [1]. Rose -ringed parakeets are the common pests of Pomegranate in the arid zone at Jodhpur [2]. The Rose-ringed parakeets (Psittaculakrameri), Plum-headed Parakeet (Psittaculacyanocephala), Crow- pheasant or Greater coucal (Centropussinensis), and Asian Koel (Eudynamysscolopacea) were also observed causing damage to guava fruits at Hyderabad. The Rose-ringed parakeets are serious pests of Cordiamyxain the Western Rajasthan desert [3]. These parakeets caused considerable damage to Almond (Prunusamygdalus) and Ber (Zizyphusmauritiana) [4] and [5] orchards at Ludhiana, Punjab. Bird pests inflict a substantial amount of damage on fruits in Punjab [6]. The parakeets are distributed throughout the country and among the 12 species of parakeets the Rose-ringed parakeet is the most destructive bird pest in horticultural crops [7]. In recent years the parakeet bird pest problems have increased to the fruit crops, particularly in all three agro –climatic zones (Northern Telangana Zone, Central Telangana Zone, and Southern Telangana Zone) of the recently formed Telangana State. Parakeets and other birds damage was observed in the guava orchard when the fruits are in the ripening stage and damage intensifies towards harvest. Parakeets would cause 20.1% to 40% damage to guava fruits reported [8]. Information on bird damage to guava fruits is lacking. To fill this gap, the present study was under taken during the Rabi season of 2022-23 in a guava orchard of the farmer field.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was carried out in an unprotected guava orchard damaged by parakeets and other birds in a guava orchard situated at Kongara Village of IbrahimpatnamMandal (Lat 17⁰19’N, long 78⁰ 23’E; altitude 543 m above MSL) 25 km from Hyderabad in South India. The variety used was local variety and the farmer followed all the regular good agricultural practices. This orchard was in an area of 1.0 ha in semi-arid open land. The total number of guava trees was 60 under unprotected conditions, of which 60 guava trees 300 meters distance were away from the main orchard. These trees were protected by bird scarers and observations were made daily from 0600 to 0900 hours in the morning, and 1600 to 1800 hours in the evening, from mid-November, 2022 to mid-January, 2023 (60 days), to drive the birds away from the orchard. The data about the bird visits, percentage of fruit damage, yield particulars, and cost economics was computed as per the standard protocols.  The scarers did their best to scare away the birds by traditional bird scaring methods such as shouting, clapping of hands, drumming with empty iron tins, and pelting of stones with a special device called as “Vadishala” or “Gulleru”. No bird scarers were employed in the unprotected guava orchard, the yield of the guava orchard at two places was compared and the cost-benefit ratio was calculated as per the formulae Gross income ÷ Total cost of cultivation  [9 & 10].

RESULTS

The Rose-ringed Parakeets, Greater coucals, and Asian koels are the serious bird pests of guava fruits under unprotected conditions. They caused considerable damage to guava fruits, particularly when the fruits were in the ripening stage until harvest of the crop. Protected with bird scarers orchards cause little or no damage compared to the unprotected orchard. The fruit fruit-eating birds were observed to attack the unprotected orchard during the morning and evening hours every day after the fruits at the ripening stage (Fig.1). In the protected field a group of 09 parakeets (during morning hours)  to 15parakets (during evening hours) and 5 to 10 koels were occasionally observed in the vicinity of the field but they never used to enter into the orchard mainly due to attention of bird scarers (Fig.2). However in the unprotected orchard a mean average of 38 parakeets (during morning hours) to 47 parakeets (during evening hours) was observed (Table.1).

In an unprotected orchard of 60 trees damage caused by birds was slightly high and yield was recorded very less 8kg /tree. The total yield was 480 kg/ 60 trees. The yield of the protected orchard with bird scarers was 24kg /tree. The total yield was 1440 kg/60 trees. A quantity of 960 kg higher yield was obtained in the bird-scarer-protected orchard compared with the unprotected orchard. The birds caused damaged nearly 42.5% of the unprotected orchard.

The bird scarers were hired at Rs.300 per day per person (for one employee for 60 days, this worked out to be about 18,000/-).Given the cost of guava fruits (Rs: 50/kg), the cost; benefit ratio in the bird scarer protected orchard was 1:4.00, compared with 1:1.33 for the unprotected orchard (Table.2).

Table.1 Mean number of Parakeet birds visits during the morning and evening hours

Table.2: Cost- benefit ratio of the Guava orchard with protected and unprotected orchard

Fig.1 Parakeet bird feeding on the guava fruits and damage guava fruits

Fig.2 Percentage of Parakeet birds damage to Guava fruits

DISCUSSION

Parakeets and other birds caused damage to guava fruits in the unprotected plot during the ripening to maturity stage. [11 and 12] reported parakeet causes considerable damage to guava fruits at Ludhiana, Punjab. This is also supported by [1], who reported that unprotected ber orchard parakeets caused slightly high damage and very less yield was recorded at Rajendranagar, Hyderabad.

In the present study an amount of Rs: 24,000 was obtained in the unprotected plot (Table.2). An amount of 72,000 was obtained in the bird scarer-protected plot after deducting the labour expenditure; a benefit of Rs: 54,000 was obtained in the bird scarer protected plot compared with the unprotected plot. An average of 7.10%-11.90% of fruit damage was observed in protected orchards compared to unprotected orchards 36.17%-48.68%, our findings are inclined with earlier workers who reported that the parakeets would cause the 20.1% to 40% damage to guava fruits by [8]. These results were supported by many workers, who reported that parakeet damage to protected almonds and ber orchards at Ludhiana was very less [4,5 and 3]. The study also revealed that parakeets and other birds cause damage to guava fruits at the ripening to maturity stage, indicating the crucial period at which the orchard needs to be protected by using traditional bird scarers was also found to be cheaper than the use of others caring methods.

                                       ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are indebted to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, India for financing the All India Network Project on Vertebrate Pest Management, Central Arid Zone Research Institute at Jodhpur and Regional Centre at Professor JayashankerTelangana State Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500030, under which the present studies were carried out.

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