Correlation of abiotic factors with burrow dimensions of Indian gerbil, Tatera indica in sandy-loam soil at different seasons of Punjab

Abstract

Indian economy largely depend on agriculture for its success which is retarded by many pests. Rodents are major vertebrate pests of agricultural crops during pre-and post-harvest stages. In our study fresh burrows of Tatera indica were excavated from sandy-loam soil from village Ladhowaal, District Ludhiana, at monthly intervals. The months were divided into five seasons. T. indica makes burrows with different parameters as the weather changes from summer to winter seasons. T. indica dig burrows with depth of 71.45cm when soil temperature and soil moisture recorded were 34.810C and 13.72% (mean), respectively during summer season, and length of 226.18cm when mean soil temperature and soil moisture observed were 15.320C and 24.44%, respectively in winter season. In sandy-loam soil, length of burrow is negatively correlated with soil temperature (-0.977) and positively correlated with soil moisture content (+0.611), whereas depth of burrow is positively correlated with soil temperature (+0.935) and negatively correlated with soil moisture content (-0.696). T. indica make burrows in sandy-loam soil due to having more sand content, electrical conductivity and bulk density. The burrows were characterized with single or multiple openings having mean number of open and blind ends ranged from 1.42 to 2.84 and 1.21 to 1.98, respectively. Present study is useful for the management of rodents in crop fields i.e., by placing poison baits in burrows, to reduce rodent damage.