Locust swarms spare paddy field in Tumsar, moving towards MP

NAGPUR: Locust swarms that were seen hovering around a paddy field in Tumsar tehsil of Bhandara district did not harm the crop. This has left the agriculture department officials who were tracking the pest surprised. The observation is also being taken as a sign of relief so far.
From Bhandara, the pest was seen going toward Tiroda tehsil of Gondia district. By 12 on Thursday afternoon, there were reports that the swarms were flying towards Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh which borders Gondia.
“However, the pest devoured the leaves of mango, jamun, mahua, ber, and babul trees,” said Ravindra Bhosle, the joint director agriculture (JDA) for Nagpur division.The Nagpur division covers the eastern Vidarbha districts of Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gondia and Gadchiroli.
In Vidarbha, the pest was first seen in Amravati district where it had entered through Madhya Pradesh.
“After a daylong chase, the locust was spotted in Temni village of Tumsar district. There was a paddy field right next to it, but fortunately the pest just did not seem to be interested in the crop. The crop was being harvested at that time,” said Bhosle.
The eastern districts are paddy-growing areas. Though a Kharif crop which is harvested by Diwali time, paddy is also grown during summers in irrigated areas. This year the area under summer paddy has increased by more than double at 4.46 lakh hectares in the three districts of Bhandara, Gondia and Chandrapur.
“The swarm was located in Temni village at around 10. The spraying continued throughout the night, leaving a huge quantity of locust dead,” said Bhosle who remained there throughout the night. Two fire tenders were deployed in the operations.
“The mango trees were affected the most, the entire upper part of foliage was eaten but the fruit was spared,” he said.
From Tumsar, the swarms were seen migrating towards Gondia district and the department’s officials in the district were alerted. “It was seen going toward Tiroda tehsil of Gondia,” said Bhosle.
“I have received reports that the swarms are moving towards Madhya Pradesh,” said the district agriculture officer at Bhandara.
The size of the locust swarm had also reduced substantially. From 17km length when it was spotted for the first time, it has now come down to 2km length and 2km breadth, he said.
Now, the focus is to ensure that the locust does not lay its eggs in the areas so that another attack happens in the monsoon. According to initial surveys, no breeding area was found.