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Showing posts with the label Locusts

Link between Indian ocean dipole and locusts

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Desert locusts is a awful threat for Indian agriculture sector. Since 2018, it has been a major problem for Indian farmers. Tens of thousands of hector crops have been ruined across India during last two years. There is a no lasting solution to stem this tragedy. Several parts of West Asia, Oman Yemen and horn of Africa - Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are the main epicenters of locusts breading. Changing of climate in Indian Ocean may be a trigger for the breeding locusts. Positive Indian ocean dipole affects monsoon in South-West parts of Asia and Eastern parts of Africa. So, Indian ocean dipole is a primary cause of this breeding. Here, I am elaborating the detailed theory of Indian ocean dipole. If you have little knowledge about IOD  , then you can skip this segment of article and shift to next part. What is Indian ocean dipole? In simple words, change of temperature between Western and Eastern part of Indian Ocean - between Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal - is called IOD (In...

How locusts form swarms - Serotonin

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Locusts plague has become a mammoth problem for farmers in many parts of India, mostly in Western parts. Not only India, Africa, West Asia, Iran and some parts of Australia have also been combating with this destructive crisis for a long time. Food and Agriculture Organization - Rome (Italy), a body of UN, succours these affected nations by providing fund and advice. In India, LWO, Jodhpur manoeuvres this trouble. Spraying pesticides to stem locusts swarms is not a efficient solution. In the past, it had been a primary aid. Formation of locusts spread in kilometers is the prominent cause of destruction. Nations need to look forward for an ultimate solution. To know, how locusts form swarms may be a initiative towards a lasting solution. This raises the important scientific question of how and why locusts collect together by the thousands in order to make a swarm.  How and why locusts form swarms According to insect biologists, locust is the recluse and singleton b...

Locusts in India : History of big outbreaks & LWO

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The agricultural disaster - Locusts is a very old crisis that affects farmers worst. Locusts move, from one place to another, in the form of a large swarm. They have capacity to cover a long distance across the continents. They damage all trees, crops & flowers wherever they encamp. Locusts have been a mammoth problem for farmers in West Asia & East Africa since many decades. When was the last big outbreak ? A)  In Colonial Administration India has been grappling with locust swarms since the Colonial Time. Scores of locust infestations as a major scourge and as a "plague" had occurred before 1947. There were serious outbreaks in 1812, 1821, 1843-44, 1863-67, 1869-73, 1876-81, 1889-98, 1900-1907 and 1912-1920. B) After 1947 As the data provided by the Locust Warning Organization which headquarter is situated in Jodhpur (Raj.), From 1964 to 1997, India witnessed almost 13 locust plagues across the country. Another 5 major outbreaks exploded from 1997 to 2010. After the ...