Locust army marches on its stomach

06-19-2001, 05:23 AM

Locust army marches on its
stomach

FROM GILES WHITTELL IN MOSCOW AND OLIVER AUGUST IN
BEIJING

PLAGUES of locusts are devastating crops from Central
Asia to the American Midwest, sending farmers to the book
of Exodus for salvation.

Not since the Egyptians incurred the wrath of God have so
many locusts had their day. A billion-strong army is on
the move, stretching far beyond the more normal swarming
grounds of Africa and the Middle East and threatening
central Eurasia s arable land in a pincer movement from
each end of the Caspian Sea.

In China, hundreds of thousands of ducks are being flown
to the northwest where locusts are taking over vast
dried-out grasslands in the worst affected areas of
Xinjiang province up to 10,000 inhabit one square metre.

The ducks are trained by government handlers to feed on
the locusts they can reportedly eat a pound of them a
day and are then flown to the afflicted region. The
Government says it is more environmentally friendly than
using planes to spray pesticides.

Southern Russia s worst plague of locusts in 40 years is
meanwhile advancing north by several miles a day and will
start spreading ten times faster if not contained within
a week, officials have said.

Yesterday the swarm was confined to a 170,000-acre swath
of farmland in Dagestan near the Caspian Sea an area
about twice the size of the Isle of Wight but it had
destroyed 30,000 acres of wheat and was eating everything
in its path, making the situation critical, according to
the Emergency Situations Ministry in Moscow.

The insects have hopped and walked inland from the Kuma
River estuary like grasshoppers. But experts called to
the scene said that they would grow wings within a week,
if allowed to, and would then be able to fly up to 30
miles a day.

In America, too, an agricultural emergency has been
declared in Utah, where the Mormon crickets have so far
caused $25 million of damage to crops.

amanpeter · 06-19-2001, 09:59 AM

Quote:

In America, too, an agricultural emergency has been
declared in Utah, where the Mormon crickets have so far
caused $25 million of damage to crops.

Great galloping gopher butts! Mormon CRICKETS?!! What, do they show up at your front door in twos? This really COULD become a problem!

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No offense meant to anyone...

06-20-2001, 03:01 AM

Swarms of voracious grasshoppers heading out of the hills, into farms

By Kiley Russell
Associated Press Writer

CLOVIS, Calif. (AP) -- Late
season rains, lush foliage and
then sudden, triple-digit
springtime temperatures have
combined to bring millions of
grasshoppers down from the
hills, worrying California's
farmers and nursery operators.

Farms from Plumas County in
the north to San Diego County in
the south are reporting swarms
of the voracious insects in fields
of alfalfa, citrus, grapes and
ornamental nursery stock, among
other crops. Although the
grasshoppers have not put much
of a dent in the state's $26 billion
agricultural economy, many
growers say it's the worst
infestation they've seen in years.

"They're coming in droves. For
every one we control with
pesticides, a thousand more are on the way," said
George Cooper, owner of Central Valley Trees, a
40-acre retail nursery in rural Fresno County just outside
of Clovis.

For the past several weeks, the grasshopper swarms
have been blanketing Coopers' nursery stock, devouring
anything green in their path. They strip the oleanders and
shade trees to the bark before moving onto the next
tasty shrub.

Entomologists blame the infestation on a combination of
weather patters and vegetation growth in the state's
coastal and interior foothill regions. Late season rains
kept foliage lush and green around the state this year,
providing plenty of food and perfect breeding grounds
for the grasshoppers.

Then, all at once, springtime temperatures hit triple
digits and hovered there for several days, sapping
unirrigated soil of its moisture and turning the foothills
brown, said Phil Phillips, an entomologist with the
University of California Cooperative Extension in
Ventura County.

Soon, millions of hungry insects began to head for the
greener pastures of commercial farms and well kept
back yards -- a migration that normally takes months
was packed into just a few hot, bug-infested weeks.

Also, a microorganism known as "nosema" that feeds
off grasshopper eggs in the spring before they hatch has
been less active this year, allowing an unusual number of
young grasshoppers to survive.

"It's almost like astrology -- everything lines up just right
and -- bang-o! -- we have a problem. It's not anything we
can be predictive about," Phillips said.

Reports of damage vary from different parts of the state
and no single commodity group is claiming disaster.
San Yenez Valley farmers along the south-central coast
are experiencing few problems, even as grasshoppers
have reportedly blanketed small gardens in the area and
even filled a swimming pool.

Some farmers in the Central and Monterey valleys,
however, are being hurt, while many county agricultural
officials are fielding calls from worried residents of
subdivisions that border large tracts of open land.

"Some growers have experienced some problems but
most of the reports we've had have been from
homeowners. The grasshoppers are moving off nearby
range land and feeding on shrubs and grass and
whatnot," said Madera County Deputy Agricultural
Commissioner Don Mayeda.

"It's the most grasshoppers that have been around here
in probably 10 to 15 years," Mayeda said.

Many growers combat other insects by using pesticides
in the spring that can kill off invading grasshoppers as
well, Mayeda said. Bait traps set along the perimeters of
orchards and fields also seem to keep crops safe
unless the grasshopper populations grow beyond the
trap capacity or have already settled into the crop.

Organic growers, however, have a more difficult time
controlling the swarms.

"I'm estimating that there are 30 percent of my vines that
are not looking good -- they're stripped of leaves," said
organic wine grape grower Ken Jones, who runs the
small Volo Del Corvo Vineyards in Monterey County.

Some of that damage is from other, "run of the mill"
causes, but the infestation "may have set me back a
year or longer," Jones said.

Walking along the trellises in his vineyard these days is
like walking in a popcorn popper filled with
grasshoppers, he said, and he's having problems
getting rid of the pests because he can't use
conventional pesticides.

Jones is mowing the weeds that he let grow between the
vines as ground cover in an attempt to cut back, at least
to some degree, the grasshoppers' food supply. There
are some sprays and soaps available to organic
growers he might try.

"They seem to have a preference for the Italian grapes
as opposed to the zinfandel and other varieties," Jones
said.

For his part, Cooper is going to try scattering pesticide
bait around his nursery, in the hopes of saving some of
his stock this year.

"We had a similar problem several years ago -- I was
just giving up hope when the dear Lord in His infinite
wisdom sent a flock black birds to eat the
grasshoppers," Cooper said. "I haven't seen the birds
yet this year."