ICAR-NRCB

Dr. J.Poorani

Division

Crop Protection

Specialization / Discipline

Agricultural Entomology

Area of Interest

Insect taxonomy, biological control, IPM

Publications

103

Qualifications

Ph.D.

Poorani.j@icar.gov.in
pooranij@gmail.com

Current Institute Projects:

Pest mapping in bananas and plantains of India (PI)
Biointensive management of major insect pests of banana (PI)

Current External Projects:
Nil

A reference collection of insect pests of banana, their natural enemies and other insects associated with banana ecosystem has been built,maintained and augmented periodically with the addition of specimens from different geographical locations.

Species composition of banana skippers and their stage-specific natural enemies were documented for the first time from south and northeastern Indian states.
Three banana leaf and fruit feeding chrysomelids, namely, Basilepta subcostata (Eumolpinae), Bhamoina varipes (Jacoby), and Sphaeroderma cruenta Prathapan & Kumari (Galerucinae, Alticini), were documented from India.
COX1 sequencing was done for all the major and minor banana pests, including Manatha albipes, Basilepta subcostata, Erionota spp., Aleurolobus musae, and major mealybugs and scales.
Emerging pests like Manatha albipes Moore and recent exotic invasive pests such as rugose spiralling whitefly (Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin), grey pineapple mealybug (Dysmicoccus neobrevipes Beardsley) and Jack Beardsley mealybug (Pseudococcus jackbeardsleyi Gimpel & Miller) were documented on banana and their natural enemies were recorded.
Faunal compositions of banana mites, grasshoppers, hairy caterpillars, fruit mealybugs, root mealybugs and scales and their parasitoids and predators, were authentically identified for the first time, including many new records for banana.
A web-based identification aid to about 60 insect and mite pests of bananas and plantains in different parts of India was constructed and hosted in NRCB’s website (URL: nrcb.res.in/album) to easy field identification of banana pests by farmers and extension workers and updated regularly.

Ernst Mayr Travel Grant from the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA, to visit the Natural History Museum, London, in July-August 2019
Travel grant from NSF, USA, in 2005 to attend the Ladybird Workshop held at the NMNH, Washington, DC.
Partial research grants from ABRS to study Coccinellidae collections at CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, Australia, in 2006 and 2008
B.S. Bhumannavar Award for Team Research, 2015 (instituted by the Society for Biocontrol Advancement, Bangalore)

Poorani, J., Anuradha, C., Thanigairaj, R. & Prashina Mol, P. 2024, Coccinellid predators of mealybugs infesting banana in South India, including a new species and a new record of Scymnus Kugelann (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), with notes on other natural enemies. Zootaxa 5419 (4): 525–544
Poorani, J., Anuradha, C., Kalleshwaraswamy, C.M. et al. 2022. Manatha albipes Moore (Lepidoptera: Psychidae), an emerging pest of banana and arecanut in South India, with notes on diagnosis, biology, natural enemies and DNA sequence data. Phytoparasitica, 50: 101–115
Poorani, J. 2023. An illustrated guide to lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the Indian Subcontinent. Part I. Tribe Coccinellini. Zootaxa, 5332 (1): 1–307
Poorani, J. 2023. An illustrated guide to lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the Indian Subcontinent. Part II. Tribe Chilocorini. Zootaxa, 5378 (1): 1–108
Poorani, J. and Thanigairaj, R. 2019. Record of Asprothrips navsariensis Tyagi (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) as a pest of banana from Tamil Nadu, with notes on other thrips infesting banana. Indian Journal of Entomology , 81 (3): 434–438.
Poorani, J. , Padmanaban, B. and Thanigairaj, R. 2019. Natural enemies of banana lacewing bug, Stephanitis typica (Distant) in India, including first report of Anagrus sp. (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) as its egg parasitoid. Munis Entomology & Zoology , 14 (1): 83–87.
Josephrajkumar, A., Mohan, C., Poorani, J. , Merin Babu, Daliyamol, Krishnakumar, V., Hegde, V. and Chowdappa, P. 2018. Discovery of a sooty mould scavenging beetle, Leiochrinus nilgirianus Kaszab (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on coconut palms infested by the invasive rugose spiralling whitefly, Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Phytoparasitica , 46 : 57–61.
Prathapan, K.D., Poorani, J. , Amritha Kumari, S., Anuradha, C., Padmanaban, B., Thanigairaj, R. 2019. Species composition and diagnoses of leaf- and fruit-scarring beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) infesting bananas and plantains (Zingiberales, Musaceae) in the Indian subcontinent. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 66 (2): 179–202.
Sharanabasappa, Kalleshwaraswamy, C.M., Poorani, J. , Maruthi, M.S., Pavithra, H.B. and Diraviam, J. 2019. Natural enemies of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), a recent invasive pest on maize in South India. Florida Entomologist 102 (3): 619–623.
Poorani, J. 2017. Stethorus spp. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) predatory on Schizotetranychus hindustanicus (Hirst) (Acari: Tetranychidae) from South India, including a new species and a new synonymy in Indian Stethorus . Zootaxa , 4277 (4), DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4277.4.9J

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Dr. J.Poorani