Dimapur, May 10 (EMN): The government of Nagaland has directed all departments to advise its district officials to take preventive measures and be prepared against the possible attack from the caterpillar called Fall Armyworm on agricultural crops.
A DIPR report on Friday said that the alert (an office memo) was issued by the Agricultural Production Commissioner and Principal Secretary of Agriculture, T Imkonglemba Ao in the aftermath of recent attack on agricultural crops by the caterpillar in Manipur, Mizoram and some parts of Kohima.
The official has also requested the departments to take all measures to eradicate the pest in places where it has already been infested, the report stated.
“Another release from the department of Agriculture has stated that the fall armyworm infestation has been reported from Kohima district on maize crop cultivation. Fall armyworm is an invasive pest damaging the entire field within few days of its infestation. Fall Armyworm is an exotic pest and can feed on 80 (eighty) different crops, but the main impact is on maize crop.
“This is a topic of concern for farmers and the scientist across the country. Therefore, the department has requested the DAOs of the district to immediately start with the monitoring, surveillance and pest scouting for immediate control measures. The important steps to be taken into account are timely application of plant protection measures to avoid spreading, creation of awareness to the stakeholders and management strategies at community level,” read the report.
For input support, according to the report, the directorate of Agriculture can provide azadirachtin for first window (seedling to early whorl stage) and emamectin benzoote for second window (mid-whorl to late whorl stage).
It stated that the package of practices on management strategies would be uploaded in the NeGPA (National e-Governance Plan Agriculture) website (Naga Farm Doctor App).
