The group was on its way to Delhi when the winds blew in the southeast. Efforts are made to locate them with the assistance of the Locust Control Office, representatives of the Union and State Agriculture Ministries and farmers. A new grasshopper has been launched from the western districts of Rajasthan. Experts estimate that if they reach Delhi with 22 per cent greenery, it will be a huge loss.
Locusts do not travel at night. Attempts are being made to find and destroy them. Locust violence has been reported in Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. It is estimated that they can travel up to 150 km a day in favor of wind trajectories. The practice is to end the journey in the evening at the farms and devour the crops.
Locust is found in western Rajasthan and Gujarat between June and November. However, the Union Ministry of Agriculture’s Locust Warning Team (LMO) issued a warning earlier this year. Locust attack in May last year after 26 years in Rajasthan. The attacks, which continued until February this year, destroyed nearly 670,000 hectares of farmland in 12 districts. The crop loss is estimated at Rs 1,000 crore.
രുത് Do not play with locusts
The grasshopper is like a grass-fed creature in its palm. When they are fully grown, they will fly long distances in search of feed. The crops are eaten with aggressive behavior. They can also enter homes. A grasshopper can lay up to 300 eggs, according to agricultural scientists. In two weeks, millions of grasshoppers will hatch. But these do not attack humans or animals. Diseases have not been detected.
3. 3.4 billion people devour food in one day
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that the grasshopper can eat 3.4 million people a day. These have wreaked havoc on agriculture in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Uganda, Congo, Yemen, Iran and Sudan. It has also been attacked in some Gulf countries in recent years.