Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De inspected the work of preventing and controlling pine caterpillars.

Also attending were representatives of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Forestry Department and a number of relevant departments, agencies, localities and units.

The working group inspected the situation of pine pests in the area under the Yen Thanh Protective Forest Management Board. According to the Management Board's report, the current growth situation of pine caterpillars is very complicated, affecting the development of pine forests. Specifically, the total area of ​​pine forests infected with worms is 351.0/362.72 ha. Currently, the third generation of worms in 2024 is at the age of 5 - 6. It is forecasted that by the end of September 2024, the fourth generation of pine caterpillars in 2024 will emerge and pose a risk of widespread pest outbreaks in the pine forests of the Management Board.

In the past time, the unit has focused human resources to spray for prevention and control 3 times on the entire pine forest area. The current difficulty is that the pine trees are at age level VI - VIII. The height of the trees is 20 - 25m, making spraying very difficult. The sprayers have been attached with nozzles 2.5 - 3m high, but there are steep and high forest areas where the chemicals cannot fly to the treetops, so the spraying efficiency is only 60 - 70%.

For Nghi Loc Protective Forest Management Board, the growth and development of pine caterpillars is also complicated. The total area of ​​pine forest infected with worms is 750 hectares, of which 450 hectares are moderately infected. Currently, the pine canopy is still green, the pine trees are growing normally with the main phase being cocoons and adult worms, the density of cocoons is 30 - 50 cocoons/tree, at the same time, eggs appear sporadically, larvae are mainly 6th instar have stopped eating to prepare to enter cocoons, the density is 10 - 20 individuals/tree.

Nghi Loc Protective Forest Management Board coordinated with officers of the Forestry Science Institute to implement light traps to catch adult worms of generation III/2024 (using 14 sets of lights), implemented from August 15, 2024 in heavily infected forest areas causing pine canopy loss in Nghi Quang, Nghi Xa, Nghi Tien, and Nghi Yen communes.

Nghi Loc Protective Forest Management Board requests the People's Committee of Nghe An province, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the People's Committee of Nghi Loc district to pay attention to directing and providing financial support so that Nghi Loc Protective Forest Management Board can effectively prevent and control the pine caterpillar epidemic that is at risk of spreading widely.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc - Head of the Provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection said: As of August 24, 2024, the whole province had about 1,723.6 hectares infected with pests, of which 601 hectares were severely infected, 342.6 hectares were damaged by pests causing leaf loss (mainly concentrated in Nghi Loc and Yen Thanh districts).

The current prevention method is to use a light trap method that combines long-distance attraction with high-intensity pale yellow light, and close-up attraction with purple light, UV rays with wavelengths (300-380nm) to trap and kill adult caterpillars. The time to set the light trap is 5-7 days after the pupae appear. Set the light trap at 6-7 pm and collect adult caterpillars the next morning.

In addition, use biological pesticides such as: Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki, Bacillusthuringiensis var. kurstaki 16,000IU + Granulosis virus 108PIB for prevention according to the recommended dosage when most worms are at age 1-3. Spray early in the morning or cool afternoon.

After completing the field inspection, Mr. Nguyen Van De - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee acknowledged the efforts in preventing pine pests and diseases of the Nghi Loc and Yen Thanh Protective Forest Management Boards.

To proactively prevent and stop the widespread outbreak of the fourth generation of pine caterpillars in 2024, and minimize the damage caused by the caterpillars, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee proposed: The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development directs the People's Committees of districts with pine forests to focus on directing specialized agencies and forest owners to strengthen the investigation, estimation, and forecasting of the situation and developments of the caterpillars, and identify areas with high density to focus on organizing and guiding forest owners to prevent and control them promptly and effectively.

Along with that, prepare enough materials, machinery, and human resources to effectively spray and control the fourth generation of pine caterpillars according to the approved plan and instructions of the provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection. Resolutely do not let the caterpillars break out and cause serious damage on a large scale.

The Forest Protection Department directs the Forest Protection Units with pine forests to coordinate with the District Agricultural Service Centers and the People's Committees of the communes to support the investigation, detection, and zoning of the infected area to effectively direct the prevention and control of the third and fourth generation of pine caterpillars in 2024.

Members of the Steering Committee for Forest Pest Control have increased inspection and direction of forest pest control, especially in key areas with large pine forests and high risk of pests.

The province will consider plans to provide additional funding for forest protection management boards and forest owners to carry out work to prevent and control caterpillar epidemics.