With the Gall Midge flies, referred to as ‘Anaikomban’ in vernacular, hitting the standing paddy crop in different parts of the central districts, the Agriculture Department has come out with an advisory suggesting measures to control the pest.
Although the insect attack is said to be restricted to a few fields, the attack is said to be quite widespread in Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts. Farmers’ organisations in the delta region have already expressed concern over the insects causing heavy damages in the standing crop. If left unchecked, farmers would incur yield loss of three to 70%. Hence, the State government should come out with suitable measures to save the crop from getting affected by the pests, they had demanded.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Department officials in Tiruchi said that the insect attack would mostly occur when the crop was about 35 to 45 days old and the incidence of the attack was noticed in a few fields in the district after the rain. The average life cycle of the insects was 14-21 days. The mother insect would lay about 100-150 eggs on the plants and the larvae emerging from them would destroy the stems. The damaged caused to the tillers and stems would adversely affect the yield, official said.
In the advisory to farmers, the Department has urged farmers to keep the fields free from weeds and use light traps to trap the insects. Farmers should desist from applying nitrogenous fertilizers more than the recommended quantity. They can apply potash at the recommended quantity. As spiders, dragon flies and wasps, the natural enemies of Gall Midge, should not be destroyed.
If the insect attack was found to be in more than 10%, farmers can apply any one of the recommended pesticides. Farmers can approach the agricultural officers of their respective areas for guidance in controlling the insects, a senior officer said and added that the insects can be controlled easily.
