Date:10/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/10/stories/2008111060350600.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Insects damage crops

Staff Reporter

TUTICORIN: Rain-fed crops such as pulses and maize in Tuticorin district, especially in Ottapidaram and Vilathikulam areas, have faced a peculiar problem this year, P. Vivekanandan, Dean, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Killikulam, has said.

Both germinating seeds and young seedlings have been badly damaged by two types of Orthopteran insects, namely, field crickets and grasshoppers.

While the field crickets feed on the germinating seeds and seedlings (both emerging and emerged), the grasshoppers feed on the foliage, he added. This has forced several farmers to take up sowing for the second time.

Re-sowing fails

The re-sowing has also failed in some fields, he said. As this type of damage has been noticed for the first time in this region, a team including R. Samiyappan, Director, Centre for Plant Protection Studies, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, P. M. M. David, Professor and Head, Department of Agricultural Entomology, ACRI, Killikulam, and Mohanraj, Assistant Director of Agriculture, Ottapidaram, visited the fields.

The team suggested various pest control measures and the mix of insecticides to adopt during various stages of cropping.