Coimbatore: Fall Armyworm which has affected maize cultivation has spread to several parts of the country and effective management to check the pest is the need of the hour to support the farmers, according to C D Mayee, President, South Asia Biotechnology Centre.
Coimbatore: Fall Armyworm which has affected maize cultivation has spread to several parts of the country and effective management to check the pest is the need of the hour to support the farmers, according to C D Mayee, President, South Asia Biotechnology Centre.
Speaking at the workshop 'Maize Fall Armyworm and Technology Capsule' organised by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, C D Mayee said that the country which was self-sufficient in maize production was at the verge of importing maize from other countries this year. "The pest, which was initially spotted in Shimoga in Karnataka, later spread to Tamil Nadu and has now reached Maharastra and Gujarat, and even to the North Eastern state of Mizoram.
Lauding the initiatives taken in Tamil Nadu where the pest was detected at an early stage, C D MAyee said that the initiative taken by TNAU has managed to control the pest to an extent and it is important to create more awareness among farmers. "The pest, which has spread from America to Africa to our country has caused widespread damage. The problem has to be nipped in the bud through constant vigilance on the part of farmers, right from day one of the vegetative growth. Treatment of seed before sowing and setting up pheromone traps in fields should be made standard practice for maize growers. Farmers must take up spraying insecticides even if only two to three moths get trapped," he advised.
He further said that the role of Tamil Nadu to keep a check on the spread of the pest is important. He said that farmers are cultivating maize mainly to prepare cattle feed and following a proper management technique will stop the pest from spreading to other places.
C D Mayee said that SABC is contacting various KVK and Agricultural Universities with an aim to develop a suite of techniques, good agricultural practices and control measures, along with educational material for various stakeholders to tackle the pest.
R J Rabindra, former Director, ICAR- NBAIR, Bengaluru, Dr. Bhagirath, Director, SABC, N Kumar, Vice Chancellor, TNAU, Coimbatore, Dr. Sain Das, former Director, ICAR-IIMR, P Balasubramanian, Scientific Director, SABC, K S Subramanian, Director of Research, TNAU and R Chitradevi, Joint Director of Agriculture, Coimbatore spoke at the event.