Ahmedabad/Anand: In the wake of the grave threat of a new dangerous pest,the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), which has entered in to various parts of India from Africa, to crops especially maize, a awareness workshop was organized for the farmers of Gujarat at Anand Agriculture University today.

Dhanuka Agritech Ltd, a leading agrochemical company, and Anand Agriculture University organized a day-long workshop ‘ Suraksha Sankalp’ on dealing with the threat of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda) faced by Indian farmers. The workshop was organized under the Public Private Partnership today and presided over by Dr. N. C. Patel,Vice-Chancellor, AAU. Several experts on the subject also participated in it.

An invasive pest that attacks maize crop, the Fall Armyworm caused immense damage to the crop in southern and western parts of the country last year. It was reported first in Karnataka and gradually spread to several other states. It remains a serious concern for maize farmers, scientists and policymakers. At the workshop scientists, subject matter specialists, farmers, distributers, agriculture university students, Krishi Vigyaan Kendra and the state department of agriculture etc. discussed the problem and the best agrochemical to deal with this pest/insect.

Talking to newsmen in Ahmedabad Chairman, Dhanuka Agritech Ltd., R.G. Agarwal said, “So far the pest has reached whole of South India, MP, Chhattisgarh, South Maharashtra and North Eastern states. This paste capable of flying to almost 200 kms a night was a dangerous one and was capable of sustaining on around 80 king of crops. Its origin has been traced to Latin America. Fortunately it has not spread to North India and even Gujarat but it can do so. So far in various parts where it has spread in the country 20 to 70% of the maize crop has been destroyed by it. Various measures were needed to check it in the primary stage.”

‘In India the demand of maize with current sowing acreage of 10 million hectare was constantly increasing and we are importing it and if the pest is not checked properly and awareness about it was not spread, it could adversely affect the produce. In Gujarat Sabarkantha and Panchmahal were two main districts for maize production and that is why we chose Anand as the venue of the workshop as it was closer to these areas,’ he added.

Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ welfare, Govt. of India recommended 3 chemical for control of this pest – Spinetoram 11.7% SC (Dhanuka brand name LARGO), Chlorantraniliprol 18.5% SC (Dhanuka brand COVER) and Thiomethoxam (Dhanuka brand name EM-1)