With farmers in Tiruchi and other neighbouring districts expected to begin maize sowing this year, the Agriculture Department has issued an advisory suggesting a set of measures to prevent fall armyworm attack, which caused extensive devastation to the crop in 2018.
Incidence of the pest attack was reported in some places last year too. Hence, it is essential that all farmers take coordinated action and follow the advisory issued by agricultural scientists to prevent the attack, department officials said.
Maize is cultivated on about 3.5 lakh hectares in Tamil Nadu. In Tiruchi district, the crop is raised on about 15,000-16,000 hectares mostly in Manapparai, Vaiyampatti, Thuraiyur, Musiri, Uppilliyapuram, Thathaiyengarpet, Thottiyam, Manachannalur and Pullambadi taluks.
In its advisory, the Agriculture Department has advocated integrated pest management methods including summer ploughing, proper treatment of seeds, synchronised early sowing, split application of nitrogenous fertilizer and collection and destruction of egg masses and larvae in the field.
Summer ploughing is essential to destroy the egg masses or larvae naturally either by sunlight or by birds. In the last leg of ploughing, 250 kg of neem cakes can be applied to the field per hectare. Synchronised sowing in a village will help check multiplication of the pest. Besides, adequate spacing should be ensured. Installation of a dozen pheromone traps has also also recommended.
The department has recommended use of specific insecticides in rotation depending on the intensity of pest incidence. Repeated use of the same pesticides, which have not been recommended by scientists, should be avoided, the advisory said.