Locusts – From the family of the swarming phase of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers.
These Lil creatures are causing huge impacts in part of world like Africa, middles east and Asia.
In India, locusts are generally seen during the month of July- October besides the Pakistan border. They were first reported in India in 1997. And after that last year, the presence of the locusts was seen in parts of Western Rajasthan and Northern Gujarat that affected destruction of growing rabi crops. The scientists of the Agriculture Ministry’s Locust Warning Organization (LWO), from Sri Ganganagar and Jaisalmer districts of Rajasthan reported theirthe first small groups on April 11.
K L Gurjar, Deputy Director of LWO gave the idea that “there is no crops in the fields, the locusts have moved across states attracted by the green cover. The swarms were aided by high-speed wind and thus they made their way to Jaipur.” Looking at the current situation, there are three to four swarms in Rajasthan, another two or three in Madhya Pradesh, a small group has drifted to Maharashtra.
There are low chances of crop damages as farmers have already harvested their rabi crops. Orange growers in Maharashtra were little concerned about but as Gurjars in Maharashtra said that it would be easily controlled. It is assumed that it can turn into a threat when present swarms breed as an adult female locust lays 80-90 eggs thrice in her three-month life cycle. They start laying eggs after the monsoon flinches and breeding continues for two more months, which could problem to Kharif crop. If that is not controlled swarm can grow into 40-80 a million locusts per square kilometer, Gurjar, and others estimate.