CHENNAI: What more could be added to India’s unwished-list for 2020? A locust attack. Massive swarms of locusts attacking Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are surreal and spine-chilling to watch. This has raised fear and apprehensions about the possibility of the locusts moving to Tamil Nadu in the coming days, as they are moving downwards in the direction of the wind. Referring to history and seeking an affirmation from the Locust Warning Centre in Jodhpur, the Agriculture department officials assure the farmers that there is no threat to Tamil Nadu.
However, to face any eventuality, the department has released an advisory on how to contain the locust menace. But environmentalists and experts in the field want the government to take more precautionary steps since the locusts have now moved to the places which they did not a few decades ago. Due to climatic change and parameters, anything is possible and such we should be ready with organic pesticides to deal with any eventuality.
A top official of the State government told Express, "Tamil Nadu government has discussed the issue with the senior officers of the Government of India and the scientists of the Locust Warning Centre. They assure that it will not cross Vindhya Sathpura mountains. In the past, the locusts never spread beyond the Deccan Plateau. Hence we assess that there are very remote chances of locust swarm attack in Tamil Nadu. However we are constantly monitoring the locust swarm movement."
As a precaution, the State government has issued an advisory explaining the methods to control the desert locusts. Spraying environmental-friendly neem-based pesticides, mass ground spray of Malathion pesticides using tractor-mounted sprayers and fire engines and spraying bio-pesticide metarhizium anisopliae are some of the ways to eliminate this menace. Besides, birds and poultry birds which eat this locust can also be used to control the locust swarms.
Dr Sultan Ahmed Ismail, ecologist and director of Ecoscience Research Foundation told Express, “Locust swarms used to come to Rajasthan and Punjab due to the weather conditions prevalent some 15 years ago. Now, they have reached upto Madhya Pradesh because of climate change and other parameters. But what I feel is we should not sit and relax saying it will not come to us. Instead of facing a sudden attack, let us be prepared.”
He says macro sprayers will not be useful in eliminating these locust swarms. "We should use disc sprayers which are approved by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN (FAO). Since this is a costly material, the government should keep them ready. Also, organic mixtures - ginger, garlic and green chillies along with a little quantity of asafoetida will be of big help,” Dr Ismail added.
Geo Damin of Poovulagin Nanbargal, an environmental organisation, says, “Locusts have spread to the interior parts of India now. This is contrary to the past history. So, it may spread to any other part of the country because these insects have the capacity to fly to thousands of kilometres and they spread only to the greener areas since they need large quantities of food (plants, crops). As such, the government should immediately form an experts committee at the State level to monitor the movement of locust swarms."
The officials said a desert locust swarm of one square kilometer contains four crore locusts which can eat and destroy crops to the tune of 80,500 kg, within a single night. So far, in Rajasthan 33 districts have been affected by the locust swarms where agricultural crops worth Rs.1,000 crore have been damaged.