HYDERABAD: Nothing that the ruthless crop pest Fall Armyworm (FAW) is rapidly spreading to Asian countries, with traces found even in the two Telugu states, representatives of eight different countries met here in Hyderabad on Wednesday to understand device measures to fight it.
The pest that has extensively affected maize production in the United States of America and African countries in the past, has reared its ugly head in the Indian subcontinent. The first reported case of the pest was witnessed in Karnataka followed by Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in July 2018.
City-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), along with the US Agency for International Development and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre, organised a workshop aimed to understand the rise of the FAW.
The institutes have come together to deliberate, research and implement pesticide plans to tackle the pest epidemic that is plaguing the subcontinent.
Dr Trilochan Mohapatra of Indian Council for Agricultural Research said, “We have noted the concern and responded with appropriate measures. It is important to work closely with the government to set up different levels of committees. A higher-level committee will consist of researchers to come up with solutions, while a lower-level committee will work on the ground level to implement them. We also need to keep in mind the need for environment-friendly and sustainable pesticides, while putting together an integrated pesticide programme.”