Longkei village under Mon sadar reported a locust incursion on July 27 last.
Mon, August 2 (MExN): The Longkei village under Mon sadar reported a locust incursion on July 27 last. The Department of Agriculture, Government of Nagaland led by Dr Beremjungla, Deputy Director, visited the infestation area to assess the situation.
“Locusts, which are typically harmless in low numbers, can become highly destructive under conditions like drought followed by rapid vegetation growth, which causes them to breed rapidly,” C Peter Yanthan, Director of Agriculture, Nagaland stated in a press release.
The team found that the locusts had infested fields located at Punuho area in Longkei village, near the Tiru Valley and Singhan Wildlife Sanctuary. Farmers indicated that the swarm came from Pongkong village. The team from the Directorate proceeded to Pongkong village for further inspection and learned that locusts were first seen in Tiru Valley on July 25 and 26, moved to Pongkong Village, and then to Longkei, where they damaged five fields covering around 8.2 hectares. “The intensity of damage was low to moderate,” it stated.
The team provided pest management training emphasizing on locust controland distributed inputs such as Azadirachtin, Malathion, Fipronil, and Thiamethoxamincluding Knapsack sprayers. Farmers were instructed to use these inputs only if further locust incursions occurred.
The Department will monitor locust incursions and has requested farmers to coordinate with them for prompt intervention, it asserted.
