After sighting of pink locusts in villages of the neighbouring Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan, the agricultural authorities have geared up to deal with a possible attack by the tropical grasshopper in Fazilka district.
On Sunday evening, a fresh swarm of pink locusts entered the Anoopgarh tehsil in Sriganganagar from the Bahawalpur region of Pakistan with the gusty winds.
The pink locusts, spotted in the last one week, are a major cause of concern among the authorities as these can cause harm to wheat and maize crops.
“We have inspected the area affected by the locust attack in the villages of Sriganganagar, about 90km away from Fazilka,” said Manjeet Singh, chief agriculture officer (CAO), Fazilka.
“Even though the situation is under control as of now, but we are alert to the situation. We have asked leading pesticide companies to keep ready their anti-locust pesticide stock so that it can be utilised to tackle any eventuality,” he added.
The CAO said, “Farmers have been asked not to panic and inform us whenever they notice locusts in the vicinity.”
{{/usCountry}}The CAO said, “Farmers have been asked not to panic and inform us whenever they notice locusts in the vicinity.”
{{/usCountry}}According to experts, pink locusts are more resilient than the regular yellow ones, have stronger wings and can fly for longer duration. Adult locusts can fly up to 150 km in a day with the wind and they can consume fresh food of roughly their own weight per day.