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Grasshoppers scare TN farmers fed on news about locusts

KRISHNAGIRI: People in a village in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu were shocked on seeing locust-like insects on some trees and plants on Friday evening. The insects had eaten leaves of some plants.

The farmers of Neralagiri village, who had heard about locust attack on farms in Rajasthan and other states, informed the district administration immediately.



On Saturday, insect researchers, officials from agriculture department and district collector S Prabhakar visited the village and confirmed that those insects were grasshoppers and not locusts .

Officials advised farmers to spray neem oil mixed in water to control the grasshoppers from invading plants.

“Grasshoppers are usually found on calotropis gigantea and cactus plants when it rains during summer,” said S Rajasekar, joint director of Krishnagiri district, agriculture department. He assured that farmers need not panic over this as these grasshoppers do not ravage standing crops.

After inspections, officials sprayed neem oil, water mixer on the plants where grasshoppers were found. The collector also monitored the task.

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