BIO-CONTROL MEASURES TO CURB ‘SENA’ MENACE
The Agriculture Department has taken action to develop a tolerant variety and introduce bio control measures to curb the Fall Army Worm (FAW) or Sena menace.
Agriculture Director General W.M.W. Weerakoon told the Daily News yesterday that there are viruses infected in this pest in other countries and they hope to use all the integrated pest management technologies to thwart this fast spreading caterpillar locally known as the Sena caterpillar.
The Department initiated weekly campaigns in November and December last year and again from January 16 to 31 in an islandwide campaign with officers from Agriculture Department, Agrarian Services Department and the Mahaweli Development Authority participating. We are also obtaining the FAO and other international organizations’ support and also from universities to curb this menace,” he added.
The ‘Sena’ catepillar initially detected in Ampara and Anuradhapura districts has now spread to several other districts.
The caterpillar variant has caused damage to corn fields and reports said that it is now affecting other types of crops. The Agriculture Department has instructed paddy farmers to be vigilant on the presence of the worm in their fields and to take immediate measures to mitigate the risk of spreading.
Around 50 percent of about 80,000 hectares of maize cultivated lands has already been affected and the economical damage is less than 20 percent.
