Using flycam to spray pesticides to kill locusts

Nghe An : Locusts destroyed more than 100 hectares of forest and crops, forcing the government to spend nearly 140 million VND to hire drones to spray pesticides.

Locusts have been appearing densely in the forests of Hamlet 7, Nghia Binh Commune, Tan Ky District since mid-April. Hamlet 7 has 150 hectares of land, of which about 100 hectares have been destroyed by locusts, leaving them bare. In addition, some corn fields have also been attacked by these insects.

Mr. Nguyen Van Trinh, Deputy Director of the Tan Ky District Agricultural Service Center, said that over the past week, the District People's Committee has allocated nearly VND140 million to rent a flycam to spray pesticides for prevention. "Locusts eat in swarms, so we have to spray in a siege style to prevent them from moving to residential areas and industrial crop areas. To date, about 450 hectares of forest destroyed by locusts have been controlled," Mr. Trinh said.

Using flycam to kill locusts — Authorities use drones to spray pesticides to kill locusts in the forests of Nghia Binh commune, Tan Ky district. Video: *Hung Le*

According to authorities, the initial use of flycams has shown effectiveness, and has saved some forests. However, this method has limitations, due to the complex terrain, in the forest, spraying cannot be as uniform as in the plains, and when standing from a distance, controlling the flycam can miss some spots.

This is the second time Tan Ky district has used flycams to spray pesticides to kill locusts, after the first time in 2021. The entire district has nearly 200 hectares, with the remaining areas, the professional agencies will soon meet to discuss continuing to spray pesticides using flycams. For crops, the government does not organize centralized spraying, encouraging people to destroy them manually or with personal sprayers.

Flycam was hired by the government to spray pesticides to kill locusts at a cost of nearly 140 million VND. Photo: Hung Le — Flycam was hired by the government to spray pesticides to kill locusts at a cost of nearly 140 million VND. Photo: *Hung Le*

According to the Deputy Director of the Tan Ky District Agricultural Service Center, people grow bamboo shoots mainly to sell, and the stems can also be used or sold as construction materials. The bamboo shoots that are eaten by locusts do not die, but they lose their leaves, reducing the bamboo shoot yield and affecting income.

The agricultural sector of Tan Ky district assessed that this year the area recorded the largest number of locust eggs ever. The reason was that last year's egg supply was abundant, and the prolonged hot weather was suitable for this insect species to grow.

"Locusts breed in swarms, when they hatch underground there are thousands of them per square meter, then they molt and gradually get bigger. In about two months they mature, lay eggs and die, and by August they are gone," said Mr. Trinh.

Locusts cling densely to the branches. Photo: Hung Le — Locusts cling densely to the branches. Photo: *Hung Le*

Grasshoppers are leaf-eating insects, belonging to the order Orthoptera, with round heads, thick bodies, good jumpers and are especially destructive to green trees. When moving, they can crawl on trees with all three pairs of legs, jump from tree to tree with their hind legs or jump and fly into the air with their wings.

Duc Hung

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