Mythimna Separata, popularly known as armyworm, has begun devouring the paddy crop in the district.
According to a preliminary estimate, paddy crop on more than 4,000 hectares in the district has been infested with armyworm. The worms hide under soil clods and in cracks along the bunds of paddy fields during the day. They are nocturnal and migrate from one field to another at night.
Shivamurthy, a farmer from Veerapura village in Bhadravathi taluk, told The Hindu that the pests were consuming the leaves and grains of the plant and leaving the stem behind. The intensity of the infestation in paddy fields in the command area of Bhadra reservoir is high. In many villages, the crop in the infected field was destroyed in one night.
It may be mentioned here that, paddy has been cultivated across 77,000 hectares of land in the district in the kharif season this year.
Madhusudan K., Joint Director of Department of Agriculture, told The Hindu that the armyworm infestation will be high in years that receive good rain after successive droughts. In addition to this, the infestation will be high in the years when there will be delay in sowing or transplantation of paddy. It may be mentioned here that as the monsoon remained sluggish in its early phase in the district this year, there was a delay in taking up the cultivation of paddy.
The infection has been reported in paddy fields in Tirthahalli and Sagar taluks where the crop is cultivated in an upland rain-fed method and in command areas of reservoirs in Shivamogga, Bhadravathi and Shikaripur taluks. Mr. Madhusudan said that the department is conducting a survey to assess the loss. The yield is likely to come down by 20% in the infested plots.
In many cases, the farmers noticed the infestation after the worms wrecked damage. The department has issued a detailed advisory to the farmers on measures to be taken to tackle the menace. The farmers have been directed to closely inspect their fields regularly.
Mr. Madhusudan said that malathion and monocrotophos chemicals are used to control the infection. The department has conducted series of on-field demonstrations on preparing the pesticide solution and on spraying it.
