Traditional Knowledge of Pest Management and Entomophagy: Perspective on Kiwi Crop Management by the Apatani Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, North East India

Conventional insect pest control methods and approaches are being used in agroecosystem management. However, some pest control methods affect human health and are unsustainable. Consumption of some insect pests as food by humans can be incorporated in a sustainable manner to manage the pest species, which locally provide some positive outputs. The traditional and sustainable ethno-entomophagy practice of the Apatani tribe, inhabiting primarily the Ziro valley of Arunachal Pradesh, North East India, can be considered a prime example of such practices. They consume three species of chafer beetles locally known as Jojer, Dikang-Diilang and SankoTapu, i.e. Anomala sp., Phyllophaga sp. and Lepidiota sp. respectively. It is also known that the adults of these species are pests of the kiwi plant (Actinidia deliciosa) and chestnut tree species (Castanopsis spp.). In this study, we unravel the practice of entomophagy of these beetles by the Apatanese and understand its implications for the sustainable management of agroecosystems.