Abstract
This study was extended from June, 1992 through June, 1993 in a lOO-acre study block of wheat-rice based cropland near Alipur Chatta (Punjab) in which multiple-cropping was being practised. The block was found to be infested with three species of rodents viz. the lesser bandicoot rat, the soft-furred field rat, and the house mouse. The rodent populations, which generally ceased to breed during the winter season, were forced to move from one crop to another following their harvesting at different times of the year. Consequently, the pest populations dispersed and then concentrated in certain fields where they could be easily destroyed using an appropriate rodenticide. Should these concentrations in the vegetable, fodder, and sugarcane fields (which cover less than 18% of the total area of the study block) be destroyed in June and, if necessary, in October, the rodent depredations in the rice, wheat and other crops will be greatly minimized at a low cost with a little ecological disturbance. Key words: abundance of rats and mice, control implications, wheat-rice based ecosystem
