Using drones to spray pesticides to kill locusts destroying mangrove forests

Present in hamlet 7, Nghia Binh commune of the districtTan KyOn the morning of June 1, we witnessed the forces of the District Agricultural Service Center and the executive committee of hamlet 7, along with the pesticide spraying service unit, spraying pesticides to kill locusts in the forest area.

Locusts swarmed densely on crops of people in hamlet 7, Nghia Binh commune. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Observations show that the entire forest, hundreds of hectares wide, has been stripped of leaves, due tograsshoppersbiting and destroying. Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, head of Hamlet 7, said that the locusts appeared in early May, but in recent days they have developed enough wings to move to the top of tall trees, making it impossible for people to eradicate them. Previously, when the locusts were young, people eradicated them manually in many ways but could not keep up. Therefore, in the past 5 days, the district has mobilizedspraying aircraftprevention on the forest meter.

The corn fields of the people in hamlet 7, Nghia Binh commune were destroyed by locusts, leaving not a single leaf left. Photo: Xuan Hoang

"Locusts have appeared in this area in previous years, but this year there have been the most. There are branches covered with locusts, in just a few days the entire forest has been stripped bare; many patches of corn, elephant grass and sugarcane... in people's gardens have also been heavily damaged by locusts.

"In the entire hamlet of 150 hectares, about 100 hectares have been damaged by locusts to the point of being bare, as if dried up. In fact, from previous years, if the leaves of the tree are completely eaten by locusts, the tree will not grow and cannot grow bamboo shoots. Too many locusts not only damage crops and trees but also affect people's lives," said Mr. Nguyen Van Minh.

Mr. Ngan Van Thinh's family spends time catching grasshoppers, drying them, and grinding them into powder to make food for pigs and chickens... Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Ngan Van Thinh's family in hamlet 7 has 2 acres of corn with full kernels, but locusts have eaten away every leaf, so the corn looks like sticks stuck in the ground.

"Seeing so many locusts, my husband and I used a manual net to catch more than 30kg, dried them to grind into powder, and mixed them with corn bran to feed pigs and chickens. There has never been a year with as many locusts as this year," said Mr. Ngan Van Thinh.

The forest of Hamlet 7, Nghia Binh Commune was completely eaten by locusts. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Faced with the strong development of locusts in Nghia Binh commune, the People's Committee of Tan Ky district assigned the District Agricultural Service Center to focus on implementing eradication plans. Mr. Le Duc Tinh - Director of the Tan Ky District Agricultural Service Center, said: At this time, locusts are at the age of 3 - 4, so they move up high and the level of destruction is fast, because the common density is from 200 - 250 locusts/m².

A pesticide spraying plane is placed in a forest area to prepare for operation. Photo: Xuan Hoang

The plane was controlled into the forest area to spray pesticides. Photo: Xuan Hoang

The most optimal solution is to use airplanes for spraying in the meter forest. Therefore, Tan Ky District People's Committee has allocated more than 139 million VND to hire a unit to directly organize spraying. By spraying in the area, the area of ​​meter forest that has been destroyed has been controlled and the sprayed area is about 45 hectares.

For crops, there is no centralized spraying, but people destroy them manually, or households spray pesticides with personal sprayers.

With one plane, it is possible to spray about 10 hectares of forest per day. Photo: Xuan Hoang

The reason why many locusts have appeared in Hamlet 7, Nghia Binh Commune at this time for many years in a row, according to Mr. Le Duc Tinh, is because when the locusts mature, they lay eggs on the ground, and by early summer the eggs will hatch and develop into locusts. Therefore, to limit locusts next year, we must eradicate them promptly./.