The armyworm disaster that started at mid-August has striken Daqing, Qiqihar, Suihua and Harbin of Hei Longjiang province. The number of armyworms per hundred affected
corn crops has reached above 1,000. Now the larva has entered the 5-6th age gluttony period, posing severe threat to corn production.
In order to fully implement the requirement set down by Urgent Notice on Detecting and Controlling Armyworm Outbreaks issued by the provincial agricultural committee, Hei Longjiang ICA took emergent actions and dispatched competent personnel to the hard-hit areas, to conduct supervision over armyworm control and inspection for pesticide application. Specific measures were as follows:
First, checking the implementation of
pest prevention and control activities, and urging responsible departments to take coordinated actions and carry out machinery operations in concentrated regions, to prevent further spread of the disaster.
Second, providing door-to-door and on-farm
technical service and guidance to farmers to use pesticide in a scientific way; to avoid overdose and prohibit the use of highly toxic pesticides.
Third, launching specific inspections on the quality of pesticides against armyworm, to prevent highly toxic and fake and substandard pesticides from entering the market.
To date, Daqing, Qiqihar and other two major counties have received inspections, over 30 lots of armyworm pesticides have been selected for random check, and over 20 lots of pesticide samples from affected cities and counties have been tested. All these efforts have made great contributions to effectively implement the control measures and win the fight against armyworm outbreaks.
(Source: Hei Longjiang ICA)