A rapid survey on the extent of termite damage in different tree species at Sri Sri University Campus, Odisha

AbstractA total of 18 tree species, eight native and ten exotic spanning 12 families viz., Fabaceae, Combretaceae, Apocynaceae, Moraceae, Lecythidaceae, Meliaceae, Rutaceae, Cycadaceae, Lamiaceae, Myrtaceae, Phyllanthaceae and Malvaceae were evaluated. Severe termite damage (exceeding 80%) was observed in species such as Neem (Azadirachta indica), Mahaneem (Melia azedarach), and Devil’s tree (Alstonia scholaris), whereas species like Arjuna tree (Terminalia arjuna) and Indian almond (Terminalia catappa) exhibited minimal damage (~10%). Six termite species, namely Microtermes obesi, M. unicolar, Odontotermes assmuthi, O. obesus, O. guptai, and Heterotermes indicola, belonging to the families Termitidae and Rhinotermitidae were identified.