LAC CULTURE
What is Lac Culture?
Management of Lac culture
Host Plants
Economic Importance of Lac Insect
What is Lac?
Seed Lac
Stick Lac
Dust Lac (Molamma Lac)
Kirri Lac (Refuse Lac)
Sheet Lac
Button Lac
Shellac
Lac Producing Areas of India
Lac Cultivation as Occupation
Agent of Lac
Lac Insect (Lakh ka Kira)
Species of Lac Insects
Broods of Lac Insect
Strains (Subspecies) of Lac Insect
It is the scientific management of lac insects to obtain a high amount of quality lac.
It involves selection and maintenance' of host plants, inoculation of host plants with healthy lac insects, collection
and processing of lac and protection against enemies.
More than 400; from India mainly – Palas (Butea frondosa), Sal (Shorea robusta), Fig (Ficus glomerata), Banyan
(Ficus benghalensis), Kikar (Accacia arabica), Ber (Zizyphus jujuba), Kusum ( Shorea oleosa ) trees. The insects
subsist on phloem sap.
Yields Resin (Lac), Lac Dye, Lac Wax; once Lac Dye was major produce, but now on account of better and
cheaper aniline dyes, Lac is the major produce.
A resinous secretion of the lac insect deposited on trees and used in making shellac.: [from Dutch lak or
French laque, from Hindi lākh resin, ultimately from Sanskrit lākshā- meaning innumerable; as innumerable
insects are responsible for producing resinous encrustation
Natural, biodegradable and non-toxic
 Find application in food, textiles, pharmaceutical Industries, surface coatings for furniture, insulation in
electrical field, sealing parcels, packets and envelopes,
Granular lac obtained from stick lac by its crushing, sieving and washing; used for obtaining shellac
Lac in its natural state as scraped off twigs and dried
Powdered lac obtained from stick lac following pounding and sieving; contain 55-80 % lac; used for making toys
and bangles
Residue left in the bag following hot filtration refining of seed lac to get shellac; contain lac resin (40-70 %), sand,
insect debris; normally available as round slab
Lac in form of Sheet;
Disc like Lac;
Lac purified by heating and filtering seed lac; usually in form of thin orange or yellow flakes but sometimes
bleached white; melted by heating on charcoal fire and molded into rods, flakes or sheets; used for preparing
varnishes, paints, polishes, printing ink, Gramophone records, Buttons and Pots.
Jharkhand (57 %), Chattisgarh (23 %, West Bengal (12 %) [Major] UP, MP, Bihar, Gujrat, Orissa, Assam,
Maharashtra (Minor), Punjab, Karnataka, TN, Rajasthan (Negligible)
Subsidiary to farming in forest and sub forest areas; account for 20 – 38 % of total agricultural Income
Nymphs (chiefly females) of Lac Insect (Subfamily – Lacciferinae; Family – Lacciferidae; Order Homoptera); for
1 kg lac about 4 lac insects are required.
A homopteran scale insect; both male and female nymphs produce resinous secretions around them for their
protection against enemies and adverse weather; male insect shows typical features of insects; however, female
has a degenerated form.
87 species belonging to 9 Genera; from India 19 species belonging to 2 Genera; Paratachardia spp (do not
produce lac of commercial importance; and are pests of Sandal, Tea etc.)., Kerria lacca mysorensis (found on
Shorea talura – The Jalari) K. sharda (found on Shleichera oleosa - The Kusum and Albizzia saman – The Rain
Tree; coastal regions of Orissa and West Bengal) , K. chinensis ( North-Eastern States); K. lacca is commercially
exploited in India
Generally Two broods (Bi-voltine) in a year – Summer and Winter; on same host plant
Two (based on life cycle, host preference and quality of lac) – Kusmi and Rangeeni
 Rangeeni Strain. Unequal duration of bivoltine (Baisaki Crop – April –May; Kaitki Crop – October-

Lac Institute
Major Lac Producer of the World
Enemies of Lac Insects
History
Steps of Lac Culture
Seasons of Lac Cultivation
Synthetic Lacquers
Primary Processing Lac
Processing of Seed Lac to get Shellac
Composition of Stick Lac
November; later used as brood lac) lifecycle and non preference of Kusum as a host.
 Kusmi Strain. More or less equi-durational (Aghani Crop - ; Jethwi Crop) life cycle and preference for
Kusum as a host; lac produced by Kusmi strain is superior.
Indian Lac Research Institute (ILRI), Namkum, Ranchi (Jharkhand)
India (accounts for 50 – 60 % of world’s total; 20,000 MT/ Year), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Philippine Island, Formosa
and East Indies; Rs 120 – 130 crores per year of foreign exchange through export of lac: Thailand is an emerging
competitor.
30 species of Primary and 45 species of Secondary Parasites; 22 species of Predators; Several Fungal Pathogens;
may cause loss of 10% to 50%
 Atharva Veda depicts that knowledge of Lac Insect, its Biology, nature of secretion, use of secretion was
known to man
 In Sanskrit Literature Butea monosperma has been referred as Lacsataru
 Chinese knew it 4000 years ago
 Lac Palace(Yatugriha) described in Mahabharata was built by Kauravas to burn Pandvas alive
Two – Inoculation and Cropping
 Pruning of Host Plants. At appropriate time and manner for producing succulent shoots for proper feeding of
Lac insect to get more lac yield
 Inoculation. Can be Natural or Artificial; Brood Lac Sticks cut into pieces of 15 – 30 cm length; tied length
wise to succulent shoots to provide sufficient contact for inoculation
 Swarming. The crawlers (nymphs) swarm out and settle on the succulent shoots; and start secreting resin to
form encrustations
 Nurturing.
 Cropping or Harvesting. After keeping a portion of twigs with encrustation as brood stick lac; rest is
scrapped for processing to get lac; Immature crop (harvested before swarming) is called Ari Lac; Mature crop
(after swarming) is called Mature Lac. Ari Lac gives better produce in Rangeeni; Generally mature crop gives
better yield
Four (According to Bengali Calendar) – Kartiki (July – Nov.), Aghrani (July – Feb.), Baisakhii(Nov. to July) and
Jesthi(Feb. to July)
Being manufactured by Modern Industries; replacing true lac
Freshly scrapped stick lac contains plenty of moisture and impurities and is required to be dried and processed to
get commercial grade seed lac and shellac
 Drying of Stick Lac.
 Crushing and Sieving. Mainly to remove sand and dust
 Washing of Lac
 Drying of Washed Lac.
 Sieving & Winnowing to get Commercial Grade Seed Lac and Dust Lac
 Hand Processing
 Heat Processing
 Solvent processing
40-60 % Lac Resin, 6-7 % Lac Wax, 3-5 % Moisture, Lac Dye and Impurities like- insect debris, wood pieces,
sand, etc.
Lac Dye Laccaic acid; Red; used by Indian Women to color soles; and for dyeing silk and wool; no longer used as dye;
toxicology tests find it non-toxic and may find use in Food and Beverages
Lac Wax Properties like Carnauba Wax; used in manufacture of shoe polishes
Enhancement of Lac Cultivation Proper Host management
Integrated pest Management
?
Life Cycle Eggs → Nymphs → Swarming → Settle Down → Lac Secretion → 3 Moults → Adults
(200 – 300 ) (0.6 mm ; red; (on tender Succulent ( Males 1.2 – 1.5 mm; 3-4 days Life)
boat shaped) Shoots) (Females 4-5mm; fast growth)
Recent methods  Ceupe Method. Artificial Division or marking of host plants in to 5 groups; at a time one group is used for
inoculation while other 4 groups are resting
 Plant Alteration. Use of tree of other variety as host