Litchi Bark Borer

📖 Description

Litchi Bark Borer is a common wood-boring pest of litchi and other fruit trees across the Indian subcontinent, particularly damaging in litchi belts of Bihar (Muzaffarpur), West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. The larva is distinctive — it lives inside a characteristic bark webbing made of silk, frass and wood particles, with bore holes extending into the wood for shelter. The larva emerges from the bore hole at night to feed on bark and cambium, causing gum exudation and die-back of branches. Unlike more destructive borers that kill trees outright, I. tetraonis typically causes chronic damage that weakens trees and reduces yield over years. The pest is most severe in orchards with poor sanitation, mechanical injuries and excessive shade. IPM with manual removal of bark webbing, swabbing bore holes with insecticide, and trunk painting with Bordeaux paste provides effective control. Maintaining orchard vigour through proper nutrition and irrigation is the single most important preventive measure — vigorous trees can tolerate moderate borer pressure without significant yield loss.