Indian Farmers Stressed Due To Swarms Of Migrating Pests; Know How To Prevent Locust Attack

India is already going through a tough phase due to Coronavirus, Cyclone Amphan and heatwave. Amidst such a crisis, the swarms of desert pests can lead to a locust plague, followed by an economic problem for the farmers.

To avoid the devastating effects of locust plagues, it is suggested to prevent them from happening in the first place. (Getty Image)

New Delhi: Locusts are the migrating pests known for feasting on all sorts of plants and standing crops. Normally, with the arrival of the monsoon, locust swarms enter from Pakistan to the deserted areas of Rajasthan in India. This year, the swarms of these pests have attacked the Indian cities earlier than usual. The humongous swarms of desert locust have posed a considerable threat farmers in several states of the country including Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The farmers are tensed about it and are trying everything to deal with the problem. To tackle the situation, farmers, state administrations have resorted to various measure. The district and agriculture department personnel in Maharashtra have initiated chemical spraying on crops and vegetation to save them from the migratory pests. On the other hand, local villagers in some districts of Uttar Pradesh have been asked to make noise by beating ‘thalis’ and bursting crackers to drive away a locust swarm. Though the situation has been intimated to the states and preventive measures are being taken, it is to be marked that country is already going through a tough phase due to Coronavirus, Cyclone Amphan and heatwave. Amidst such a crisis, the swarms of desert pests can lead to a locust plague, followed by an economic problem for the farmers. To effectively deal with the situation that is not only faced by India but many other countries, various global studies have come up with several measures. To avoid the devastating effects of locust plagues, it is suggested to prevent them from happening in the first place. As reported on the website of World Economic Forum (WEF), considerable resources are allocated to early warning and preventative control strategies. Locust monitoring stations collect data on weather, ecological conditions and locust numbers, making forecasts of the timing and location of breeding. The report further states that to control the attack of these migrating pests, the use of so-called biological control mechanisms perhaps may prove to be helpful. Natural predators such as wasps, birds and reptiles may prove effective at keeping small swarms at bay. The WEF however says that for managing more established swarms, newly-developed targeted ‘microbial bio-pesticedes’, such as the fungus-based “Green Muscle”, offer a larger-scale solution. Besides these preventive measures, some studies suggest that the primary method of controlling Desert Locust is to apply insecticides. Organphosphate chemicals is one of the most commonly used insecticide, which is applied in small concentrated doses with the help of vehicle-mounted and aerial sprayers and to a lesser extent by knapsack and hand-held sprayers. Through this, whole swarms can be targeted in relatively short periods of time.