Locust army marches on its stomach

[Guest guest]

 

 

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 0]

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...

[Guest guest]

<h3>Swarms of voracious grasshoppers heading out of the hills, into farms</h3>

 

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."