China - Small farmers struggle to stop destructive march of the armyworm

13.08.2019 126 views
YAN Wenliu leans on the side of his cart as he prepares to leave his sugarcane field in south-west China, bewildered by the formidable new pest that has ambushed his crops this year. "I don't know what it is," said Mr Yan, a 36-year-old farmer from Menghai county in Yunnan province. "But it is bigger than other ones. I have never seen this worm before." The creature he is unable to name is the fall armyworm, the larva of the fall armyworm moth. Known locally as the "heart-devouring worm," the destructive pest has spread more than 3,000 km north since migrating from neighbouring Myanmar seven months ago, reaching 21 provinces and regions in China and posing a grave threat to grain output. In Yunnan alone, where the pest struck first in China, some 86,000 hectares had been affected by mid-June, including corn, sugarcane, sorghum and ginger crops. First found in the Americas, fall armyworm has spread through Africa and Asia since 2016, with the moths flying up to 100 km a night. It can't be eradicated and its management is both costly and difficult. This poses a formidable challenge in China where about 90 per cent of crop production comes from small farms of less than a hectare and owners lack basic knowledge and resources to tackle the pest. Beijing warned earlier this year that armyworm was a severe threat to the country's food security and in May launched a campaign to "snatch grain from the insect's mouth". Millions of yuan have been allocated to affected regions and experts sent to educate farmers. In Yunnan, the government has set up 3,500 monitoring sites at local agriculture bureaus and conducted frequent field inspections, the provincial agriculture bureau said in an e-mail to Reuters. Local authorities have also provided training to farmers and pesticide dealers on identification and prevention of armyworm, the bureau added. To those in Yunnan, the solution to the worm problem seemed obvious - pesticide. "You have to keep spraying chemicals. If you don't kill the worm, you will end up penniless," said Mr Yan. But paying for the pesticide in the quantities required has left many farmers out of pocket, while a failure to follow the complex regime needed - using different pesticides at different crop growth stages and rotating them to prevent resistance - means the money is often wasted. "You just can't kill them," says Yan Hannen, a 44-year-old farmer, from nearby Nuodong. "I have been farming for 20 years but have never seen this many worms." He applied pesticides fives times to his last crop of sweet corn, but output nearly halved. He has already sprayed his new crop twice, to little effect. "They told me to use one bucket but I used three. It still did not work. What can you do?" he asked. Local government has held many meetings to brief farmers on the pest and villagers have improved their approach to using pesticides, said Yan Xiangwa, a village official in Nuo-dong. But for farmers who have already battled severe drought this year, the latest threat has put their entire livelihoods at risk. Villagers tend to give up treatment due to the high cost, the Yunnan provincial government said in a report last month, adding that sufficient human resources for plant protection were also lacking at the local level. Yu Xianger, another Nuodong farmer, sprayed pesticide on her corn field without results and is thinking about finding work in the city. "The worms have devastated my corn crops this year. And there's nothing much else I can do," she said. Experts say the fight against armyworms is difficult and the enemy is a tough one. Adept at hiding, the pest is hard to detect and prefers to venture out at night, to feast on plants and fly to new pastures. The villagers' slow response to the arrival of armyworm was not helped by the absence of a trapping system involving lights and pheromones that Beijing says is currently being deployed nationwide. The Yunnan agriculture bureau says it has set up more than 30,000 such trapping systems in the province and is continuously carrying out preventive measures and treatment against the pest, involving chemicals and natural enemies. While some villages have been badly affected, the government says the province as a whole has been managing the problem. The damage has been "effectively controlled" in Yunnan, with total corn crop losses limited to within 5 per cent, it said in the e-mail. This year's summer grain output in Yunnan increased by 16,200 tonnes from the previous year, the bureau said, citing official statistics. Despite the problems in the country's south, the outlook for China's main corn production area in the north is "much better," says Hu Gao, professor of insect ecology at Nanjing Agricultural University. Control and prevention measures have given the region, which accounts for more than 70 per cent of China's corn production, more time to prepare for an invasion. The worm has yet to reach the north-eastern provinces including Heilongjiang, the top grower of the grain, and some experts believe the lower temperatures in the region will protect it from a full attack. Source - https://www.businesstimes.com.sg
28.03.2024

Canada - How Sask.'s new budget does and doesn't address climate change

The world is facing record heat from human-caused climate change brought on by carbon dioxide and methane emissions, but the words "climate change" don't appear once in Saskatchewan's newly released 75-page 2024-25 budget.

28.03.2024

Kenya - How crop insurance is transforming agriculture

Kenyan farmers continue to face challenges due to unpredictable weather conditions. As a result, they are turning to insurance coverage for their crops and livestock. Insurance experts have reported that most farmers who are insuring their crops are smallholders who rely on rain-fed agriculture and use low-technology farming methods.

28.03.2024

USA - How spring temperature fluctuations, early blooms are impacting Centre County fruit farmers

Plenty of people in Centre County got outside to enjoy temperatures in the 60s and 70s earlier this month, but spring weather fluctuations continue to cause concern for local fruit farmers.

28.03.2024

USA - Farmers use helicopters to warm crops amid spring freezes

An early spring this year means more work for farmers as early blooms face freezing temperatures. Les Dozier's Sta-N-Step Farms has served Northwest Arkansas since 1989. His farm is one of many facing freezing temperatures that could ruin crops.

28.03.2024

Ireland - Potato will be scarce by June, farmers praying for rain to stop

Farmers have to "watch, hope and pray" for a "sweet spot" of dry weather in the coming weeks or many will have to debate whether to plant at all this year. As continuous rainfall adds to already saturated ground, many big and small potato farmers are warning that the Irish favourite variety of Rooster may be in scarce supply by June.

28.03.2024

USA - Several metro Atlanta counties declared natural disaster zones after severe drought

More than 30 Georgia counties — including 10 in metro Atlanta — have been designated “primary natural disaster areas” by the United States Department of Agriculture, the agency announced Thursday.

27.03.2024

Turkey - Climate change may affect grape cultivation

A recent study has highlighted the impact of the climate crisis on viticulture in Turkey, predicting that the expected rise in temperatures and reduced rainfall could shift the suitability of vineyard regions for grape production over the next three decades.

27.03.2024

Crop crisis reveals El Niño’s toll on Southern Africa

New findings from the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (Enso) reference group highlight the significant impact of the 2023/24 El Niño event on various aspects of climate and agriculture in Southern Africa.

istanbul escort şişli escort tbilisi escort şişli escort şişli escort maslak escort istanbul escort beşiktaş escort taksim escort izmir escort ümraniye escort mecidiyeköy escort şişli escort taksim escort ümraniye escort kartal escort şirinevler escort maltepe escort istanbul escort ümraniye escort kadıköy escort vip escort mersin escort istanbul escorts ataköy escort avcılar escort beylikdüzü escort okmeydanı escort şişli escort tuzla escort işitme cihazı sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop