Grasshoppers, Not Locusts, Says Tamil Nadu Govt As Farmers Complain Of Swarms Attacking Crops

While several states in north India are in the midst of what is being described as the worst locust plague in nearly three decades, there was a similar scare in Tamil Nadu after farmers complained that their crops are being attacked by swarms of insects.

AFP

Over the past few days, farmers have complained that swarms of locust species have attacked banana, rubber and other crops in parts of plantation dominated districts of Tamil Nadu.

However, according to Tamil Nadu government, these are spotted coffee grasshopper, Bombay locust and the Crytacanthacris Tartarica, a type of grasshopper, which has been mistaken for the swarm of desert locusts.

According to a member of the Grasshopper Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, none of the three species noticed in the Nilgiris and in the vicinity, are of immediate threat.

BCCL

Farmers in Poovankodu and Viyanur in Kanyakumari district bordering Kerala have claimed that the "locust" have ravaged the banana and rubber crops to a large extent. State Revenue Minister RB Udayakumar on Saturday assured farmers that the agriculture department has been instructed to tackle the "menace."

Earlier, a farmer in Khandal near Udhagamandalam who noticed a swarm on Friday, managed to capture some of the species, and informed the district administration.

Nilgiris collector Innocent Divya, who verified with experts, assured the farmers that the species captured in her district was not the desert locust.

BCCL

The Tamil Nadu government has also assured that farmers need not be alarmed since the possibility of desert locusts attacking the State was remote. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami chaired a meeting with Ministers and officials to review the situation after farmers complained about locusts and confirmed it was in fact that grasshoppers found in some parts of the State were not desert locusts, as it was originally feared.

Though the chances of desert locusts attacking the State were remote, the Chief Minister instructed officials to undertake certain precautionary measures and to monitor the situation in various districts.

"Farmers need not be alarmed over hoppers found in fields by mistaking them for desert locusts. However, if they are found, farmers could inform officials in agriculture and horticulture departments at once," the Chief Minister said.

The Tamil Nadu government has advised farmers to use bioinsecticides like neem seed oil to protect agriculture and horticulture crops. Till now several states in the country including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra have seen unusually large swarms of locusts attack crops.