Pest Scouting/Survey teams are constituted at tehsil, district and regional levels for Kharif Season. These teams are conducting regular pest Scouting/survey of all crops, vegetables and orchards throughout the year on weekly / fortnightly basis with special reference to Cotton, Rice and Sugarcane. However Anti-Pest Campaigns of Cotton and Rice are being launched w-e-from 01 June and continued till 31st October.
During Kharif season the following crops, vegetables and orchards are included in the pest scouting programme.
During Kharif season the following crops, vegetables and orchards are included in the pest scouting programme.
- Major Crops like Cotton, Rice, Sugarcane and Maize
- Orchard like Citrus, Mango, Guava and Aples etc.
- Vegetables like Brinjal, Okra, Bittergourd, Tinda, Tori, Cucumber, Pumpkin, Chillies, Muskmelon/Watermelon, Spinach and Others
Pest Scouting /Survey at Tehsil Level
- Random and Fixed Pest Surveys for Kharif crops are conducted at Tehsil level by a team headed by one Agricultural Officer (PP) Pest Warning assisted by 1-2 Field Assistants / Pest Surveyors.
Cotton and Rice Crops
Random Survey
- Each team conducts pest scouting 5 days per week covering 8-10 spots per day (40-50 spots per week).
- Observations are recorded about pest infestation and disease incidence for Cotton and Rice and farmers are guided at the spot about the identification of insects,pest, diseases, methods of pest scouting, importance, implementation of Economic Threshold Levels (ETL) and most effective & ecological friendly pest control measures.
- A prescription slip is delivered to the farmer at the spot.
- Each Union Council (UC) is covered every week in order to have more accurate picture of pest infestation and disease incidence in that particular Tehsil.
Fixed Spots Survey
- For crop mapping and motivation of the farmers for adopting Integrated Pest Management techniques (IPM), Two (2) spots are selected in each Tehsil in Cotton & Rice areas in such a manner that these represent the whole Tehsil.
- At each spot the area of the plot is 5 acres. This area is pest scouted by pest scouting teams of the tehsil on weekly basis regularly.
- The observations are recorded about the infestation of insects,pests and disease incidence . Additional information such as plant height, number of fruiting parts etc. are recorded for Cotton crop and spike length, number of tillers, productive & non-productive tillers, grains/spike and 1000 grain weight etc. for rice crop.
- Farmers are motivated to adopt Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques, conserve natural enemies and apply suitable pesticides only when pest population reaches the ETL (Economic Threshold Level). In this way the use of pesticides are minimized resulting in low cost of production along with Biodiversity conservation.
Sugarcane
- The teams constituted for Cotton and Rice conduct pest scouting of sugarcane as under:
- 15 spots at random and 5 fixed spots are pest scouted in each sugarcane mill zone area during a fortnight and information is recorded on.
- Farmers are guided to manage the pests by adopting appropriate control measures.
- For the management of Sugarcane Leafhopper (Pyrilla perpusilla) the use of a parasite, namely, Epiricania (cocoons) is recommended.
General Crops, Vegetables & Orchards
Random Survey
- Pest scouting is conducted at random for each crop, vegetable and orchard in addition to the special campaign about Cotton, Rice and Sugarcane.
- During survey the farmers are educated for adopting IPM (Integrated Pest Management) measures according to the Insect pest/ disease situation.
Fixed Pest Survey of Landscape
- A landscape area consisting of one kilometer square is selected in each Tehsil in such a manner that it would represent the whole Tehsil.
- Fortnightly observations are recorded on each crop, vegetable, orchard etc. (what so ever is sown in this landscape area) regarding insect pest infestation and disease incidence according to the prescribed method to see the trend of Insect pest/ disease. This will help us in forecasting and adopting appropriate precautionary measures about an insect pest or disease before it flares-up and spread to the adjoining areas.