Even as experts across the country have initiated desperate efforts to kill the massive locust swarms with methods including bio-control, researchers from Anna University are exploring the possibility of catching them for organic fertilisers.
Chennai: Experts from the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), Anna University, are preparing drones that can carry nets to catch locusts.
Dr K Senthilkumar, director, Dr Kalam Advanced UAV Research Centre, Aerospace Engineering said locusts are an excellent source of protein. So they could be caught to make fertilisers and also poultry feed. “We are in touch with Rajasthan government and the Centre,” he added. Senthil Kumar said about 20 specially designed drones could be deployed for this.
Explaining the method, he said a fleet of drones flying at 300-metre altitude, carrying repelling system as payload, would map the locust density. There would be ground vehicles that would have traps and locust-attracting agents.
“Depending on the locust density and location information given by the drone, the traps are moved,” he said. Then the automatic net ejection system captures the insects. Citing an example, he said that when the fish discover a region with more food, they would quickly go to that region as a swarm. “The locusts also behave in the same way. Therefore, we could catch them like how the fish is caught,” he added.
Considering an average mass of about 20 to 30 g per locust, they would be able to catch several lakhs of insects at a time, he added.
Monitoring teams at bordering districts: Agri director
Dr K Senthilkumar, director, Dr Kalam Advanced UAV Research Centre, Aerospace Engineering said locusts are an excellent source of protein. So they could be caught to make fertilisers and also poultry feed. “We are in touch with Rajasthan government and the Centre,” he added. Senthil Kumar said about 20 specially designed drones could be deployed for this.
Explaining the method, he said a fleet of drones flying at 300-metre altitude, carrying repelling system as payload, would map the locust density. There would be ground vehicles that would have traps and locust-attracting agents.
“Depending on the locust density and location information given by the drone, the traps are moved,” he said. Then the automatic net ejection system captures the insects. Citing an example, he said that when the fish discover a region with more food, they would quickly go to that region as a swarm. “The locusts also behave in the same way. Therefore, we could catch them like how the fish is caught,” he added.
Considering an average mass of about 20 to 30 g per locust, they would be able to catch several lakhs of insects at a time, he added.
Monitoring teams at bordering districts: Agri director
Monitoring teams were deployed at the border districts to contain the desert locusts attack, said Agricultural Department director V Dakshinamurthy in Thanjavur. On the sidelines of the interaction with the officials on the Kuruvai cultivation preparedness, Dakshinamurthy said the State has deployed monitoring teams at the bordering districts to alert farmers and officials about the status of the locusts. So, the farmers in the State need not worry about it, said the official.
The Centre has established a warning centre for desert locusts at Jodhpur and the State government has been in touch with the Centre and is continuously enquiring about the movement of the locust swarm, he said. There are 250 verities of locusts in the region, Dakshinamurthy said, adding that those in Tamil Nadu were harmless to the farmers. Meanwhile, the State has planned to cover 3.50 lakh acre in Delta districts under kuruvai cultivation with a food production of 5 lakh tonnes, he said. The state government has been extending all support to the farmers to achieve the target, added the official. Stating that the required stock of seeds and fertilisers were available, the director said that the most-wanted short-term varieties like Aduthurai 36, 45, CO 51 and TK 9 are available adequately.