Locust menace continues: Swarms reach Nagpur, pesticides sprayed through drones

After spreading immense havoc on agricultural crops in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana, the locust swarms have now headed to Ajni village in Maharashtra's Nagpur district on Wednesday. The large swarms of the short-horned grasshoppers have taken its route to Nagpur from the Pench Tiger Reserve.

Drones used to spray pesticides 

The officials have started to use drones to spray pesticides on crops and trees to prevent the locust attack on it. So far, no crop damage has been reported, said an agricultural officer.

The locust swarms descended in the Pench Tiger Reserve on Tuesday. The tiger reserve is spread across parts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Being a protected area, no spraying of pesticides was conducted there.

"On Wednesday morning, drones were used to spray pesticides on trees and crops in Ajni in the presence of State Agriculture University scientists," said Ravi Bhosle, the divisional joint director, agriculture.

Locusts were found sitting mostly on 'ber', 'babool', and 'anjani' trees. "Paddy is yet to be sown in the area. There is no damage to field crops," Bhosle said.

The locust swarms were now moving towards Mouda tehsil in the district.

Menace continues 

According to the reports, the locusts have ravaged crops spread over at least 5,00,000 hectares of land in Rajasthan, mostly in the western and eastern parts of the state.

In an unprecedented manner, the locust invasion this time was not restricted to some localities or in a considerable amount.

For the first time, drones and planes were used to fight the locust attack in Rajasthan as it became unmanageable for the locals and farmers to prevent the insects from attacking the crops.

Moreover, climatic changes have also resulted in an earlier arrival of locusts to the county, which is flying at a great height against their fundamental nature to operate in the low lying regions.