**7. Safflower**

*Carthamus tinctorius* L.: known as safflower, Safflor, Bastard saffron. Safflower has worldwide production, especially in several Western states and Canadian Prairie provinces.

#### **7.1** *Camnula pellucida* **(Scudder),** *Melanoplus packardi***i (Scudder), and** *Melanoplus sanguinipes* **(F.) (Orthoptera: Acrididae)**

**Identification:** The clear-winged grasshopper, *C. pellucida* is a small but severe species of grasshoppers. *M. packardii* are strong fliers with long wings; the striped sand grasshopper. *M. sanguinipes* is named the Nevada sage grasshopper (Zinni, 2011)

**Life cycle and damage:** The *Melanoplus* species fed preferentially on leaves, floral parts, and capitula, while *C. pellucida* exhibited only peduncle feeding, which resulted in head clipping.

**Economic and action thresholds:** The economic threshold is one larva per square foot (30 by

**Control**: Several insecticides are registered for cutworm control in sunflowers. Post emergent treatment with an insecticide provides quick control of surface feeding cutworms. Best results occur if insecticide applied at night. Seed treatment will provide suppression of

**6.13** *Psittacula krameri krameri* **(Scopoli),** *Psittacula krameri manillensis* **(Bechstein)** 

**Identification:** They are known as African ring-necked parakeet, Indian ring-necked parakeet and Neumann's ring-necked parakeet, respectively. *P. K. krameri* is green, face, abdomen and under wing-coverts yellowish-green; nape and back of head variably washed with blue; chin, broad cheek-stripe; narrow band to nape pink; upperside of middle tailfeathers blue with greenish-yellow tips, outer feathers green; underside of outer tail-feathers olive-yellowish, middle feathers blackish; bill blackish-red with black tips; iris yellowishwhite; feet greenish-grey. *P. K. manillensis* is much darker; face stronger green; blue tinge to nape extends in many birds to back of head; breast and abdomen feathers tinged bluishgrey; upper mandible red, lower mandible black; larger. However, *P. K. borealis* is as *krameri*, but face pale green; breast and abdomen feathers in both sexes with marked grey-white

**Life cycle and damage**: They mostly observed in small groups. They clutch 2-6 eggs; which incubated in 21 to 24 days; and fledging period is about 6 to 7 weeks. The birds' damage starts from the milky stage and continues till harvest. They consume an average of 152 seeds per day. The damage of the birds was highest at the mature stage, 23.8%, and minimum, 7.60%, on the emerging stage of sunflower. Also, other birds such as sparrows, crows and

**Control**: Establishment of scare crows in the field; bursting of crackers and carbide guns, tying polythene bags may decrease birds' infestations. Destruction of bird nest in and around the field and deploying two laborers per hectare to scare away the birds may be effective. Spraying of neem kernel powder solution at 10 g/liter of water after seed

*Carthamus tinctorius* L.: known as safflower, Safflor, Bastard saffron. Safflower has worldwide production, especially in several Western states and Canadian Prairie provinces.

**Identification:** The clear-winged grasshopper, *C. pellucida* is a small but severe species of grasshoppers. *M. packardii* are strong fliers with long wings; the striped sand grasshopper.

**Life cycle and damage:** The *Melanoplus* species fed preferentially on leaves, floral parts, and capitula, while *C. pellucida* exhibited only peduncle feeding, which resulted in head clipping.

**7.1** *Camnula pellucida* **(Scudder),** *Melanoplus packardi***i (Scudder), and** *Melanoplus* 

blackbirds can damage sunflower crops (Ahmad et al., 2011; TNAU, n.d.-b)**.** 

30 cm) or 25-30% stand reduction (Knodel et al., n.d.).

cutworm activity (Knodel et al., n.d.).

**and** *Psittacula krameri borealis* **(Neumann)** 

tinge; smaller upper mandible red with black tip (Rana, n.d.).

shedding for repelling the birds can be applied (TNAU, n.d.-b).

*M. sanguinipes* is named the Nevada sage grasshopper (Zinni, 2011)

*sanguinipes* **(F.) (Orthoptera: Acrididae)** 

**7. Safflower** 

Defoliation of 20 to 30% was associated with significant increases in total dry matter, seed yield, and number of capitula. Further defoliation resulted in decreases of dry weight, seed yield, and capitula number (Mundel & Johnson, 1987).

**Monitoring:** refer to the monitoring section for grasshoppers in cotton.

**Economic and action thresholds:** action threshold is when 8 or more grasshoppers per square yard occur in the field (Knodel et al., 2010).

**Control:** refer to the control section for grasshoppers in cotton.
