NU SASARD undertakes unique experiment
Morung Express News
Dimapur | June 17
Biological control methods are often adopted in order to minimise economic and environmental practices impact of any pest or weed control programme. One such experiment is currently underway at of Department Entomology, School of Agricultural Science and Rural Development (SASRD), Nagaland University.
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Mexican beetle feeding on Parthenium in Lab condition (SASRD Photo)[/caption]
On June 15, SASRD Dean Prof. RC Gupta, in the presence of faculty and staff, released a trial batch of Mexican beetles (Zygogramma bicolorata) in the open on Parthenium weeds at SASRD campus, Medziphema.
The unique experiment is undertaken to study the biology and effectiveness of the Mexican Beetle under Nagaland condition to control Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus), a SASRD release informed.
Commonly known congress grass or carrot weed, Parthenium weed is considered to be one of the “most noxious weed” and known to suppress the growth of local vegetation and also reported as a health hazard by causing dermatitis, eczema and asthma as well as causing health risk to cattle and other grazing animals, it said.
The weed also serves as a reservoir of viral diseases of important crops and believed to have entered India with the import of wheat grains in the mid ‘50s, the release said.
In Nagaland, the weed has been gaining ground especially in Dimapur district growing in roadsides, railway tracks, agricultural land, playgrounds, and gardens etc, it added.
According to SASRD, the management of weed has been found to be very difficult due its resilience and ability to produce flowers and seeds at any time of the year under favorable conditions.
A total of 200 beetles were released in a plot of land measuring around 7 square metre with the Parthenium weeds, informed Prof. M. Aleminla Ao of Entomology Department when The Morung Express enquired about the magnitude of the current experiment.
The period of trial observation will be for a year and the study will be done under close observation taking into account its suitability and effectiveness in the State’s climatic conditions, she said.
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(Right) Mexican beetle - Zygogramma bicolorata. (Left) Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus (SASRD Photo).[/caption]
If the experiment is successful, it will be ‘great’ for the state, Prof. Ao maintained when asked about its benefit, further dismissing the possibility of its harmful effect citing earlier experiments.
As the weeds grow near human dwellings, use of herbicides (chemical substances to control weeds) and other methods are not recommended. Thus the objective of the study is to provide a safe management practice to suppress Parthenium weed in Nagaland, the release noted.
The healthy batch of the Mexican beetles for the study was provided by Dr. Sushil Kumar, Principal Scientist, ICAR-Directorate of Weed Research, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
