Farmers should be careful about fall armyworm outbreaks in maize crop

Hamirpur, July 4 – The Agriculture Department has warned the farmers of the districts of Hamirpur about the outbreak of the fall armyworm and another worm that has started harming the crops.

Deputy Director of the Department Atul Dogra said that this pest had caused a lot of damage to the maize crop last year.
He has advised the farmers to keep a close watch on their fields and immediately contact the departmental officials in the event of fall armyworm symptoms.

Kharif crops are sown on about 35,000 hectares of land in Hamirpur, and Maize is one of the main crops of the district along with Wheat.

The Deputy Director said that the caterpillar stage of this insect is harmful and damages the crop at all stages. The nymphs feed in groups on the green matter of the leaves on one side, causing thin, white, papery spots and small holes in the leaves. Large caterpillars often enter the leaf whorls of the plant in numbers of one or two and feed on the leaves, causing large holes in the leaves. In the leaves and in the whorls of the leaves, a brown-coloured substance like the pith and sawdust of the caterpillars can also be seen. In the later stage, the caterpillars enter the cob and feed on the kernels as well.

Atul Dogra said that for effective management of this pest, various measures of pest control should be adopted as an integrated system along with pest monitoring right from the beginning.