RESPONSES OF BANDICOTA-BENGALENSIS TO BELOW GROUND BAITING IN ORCHARD

Studies on responses of rats to below ground baiting and their associa tion with flora and fauna were conducted in grape-vine areas in an orc hard which had high infestation of Bandicota bengalensis. Surface bait ing for control of B. bengalensis was not feasible in the presence of different avian species, predators, and abundance of natural flora on the floor of the orchard. Below ground baiting was found effective in developing acceptance of rats to the plain bait offered in the bait bo xes below the ground right inside their burrow complexes. However, rat s' acceptance to below ground poison bait was very poor. Six different parameters employed to measure efficacy of poison baiting revealed va riable per cent control success. Out of 27 types of weeds and grasses which occurred on the floor of the orchard, only 7 types were identifi ed from the soil heaps on entrances of the rats' burrows and in the ba it-boxes, which indicated their association with rats' feeding, nibbli ng and cutting behaviour. These findings form basis for a new method o f below ground baiting for exposing poison baits and using of alternat e foods for control of B. bengalensis in orchards.