DAE takes measures to control FAW in maize fields in Gaibandha

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GAIBANDHA, Feb 7, 2020 (BSS) – Department of Agricultural Extension
(DAE) has taken up measures to control Fall Armyworm (FAW) in the maize
fields of the district to produce the crop without fears.

DAE office sources said a total of 14,280 hectares of land of the
district were brought under the maize farming this season but a number of
maize fields had been attacked with FAW making the farmers more worried about
the crop and its desired output.

To remove the farmers’ tension and to save the maize fields from the FAW
the DAE is conducting various activities for the officials and the farmers.

Under the initiatives, the field level sub assistant agriculture
officers (SAAOs) from the district were sent to Wheat and Maize Research
Institute at Chuadanga in phases and they received need base training from
there on controlling FAW in the maize fields.

Besides, a number of SAAOs here were also imparted training on the FAW
management from the additional director office of DAE, Rangpur to make them
well equipped in this regard.

Apart from it, a day-long workshop on FAW management for the agriculture
officials and the farmers was also held at the training room of deputy
director office of DAE at Khamarbari of the town here on Wednesday.

With the financial support of Food and Agriculture Organization,
Entomology department of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh
arranged the workshop in cooperation with DAE here.

DD of DAE KrishibidMasudur Rahman addressed the function as chief guest
and chief instructor of Agriculture Training Institute Paritosh Chandra Das
spoke at the event as special guest while additional DD (Plant protection)
Abul Kalam Azad conducted the workshop as the moderator.

Professor Dr. Mohammad Mohir Uddin and Professor Dr. Gopal Chandra Paul
of Entomology department of the BAU made their presentation on the theme as
the resourece persons.

They said the FAW or Spodoptera Frugiperda, is an insect native to
tropical or subtropical regions in the Americas.

FAW which was first detected in Central and Western Africa in early
2016, has quickly spread across virtually all over the Sub-Saharan Africa,
they also said.

In July 2018, the FAW was confirmed in the maize fields of Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana states of India, they
added.

By December 2018, caterpillar FAW had been reportedly found in some
maize fields in Kushtia and Chuadanga of Bangladesh side by side with
Srilanka and Thailand, they further added.

It has been spread around 38 courtiers till now and it can travel up to
100 km in one night; they said adding that a female moth can lay up to 1,000
eggs in her lifetime and an egg takes 2-3 day times to be matured.

FAW has become a threat to the farmers as it feeds the seedling plants
at the early growing season of rice, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, vegetable
crops and the maize plants during the appearance of corn kernels, they
termed.

They urged the farmers to apply the pheromone and the light trap
technologies and advised them to use SNPV, Proclaim, Success and Tracer as
pesticides in the affected fields to save their maize crop from the FAW.

DD of DAE Krishibid Masudur Rahman said the attack of the FAW is in its
primary stage here and the trained SAAOs made aware the maize farmers about
the FAW and its controlling management to save their maize fields from the
pest.

A total of 70 officials of DAE, ATI, Horticulture center and District
Seed Certification Agency, NGO representatives and lead farmers including the
media men took part in the workshop.