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In the wake of increasing pest and insect attacks on crops, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has initiated measures to screen some crop varieties in the neighbouring countries to test their resistance to new pest attacks so that they could be directly promoted for cultivation.
This was stated by Director General of ICAR Trilochan Mohapatra on the sidelines of the five-day 19th International Plant Protection Congress that took off here on Sunday. Their immediate focus was on the new pest and insect attacks in the neighbouring countries that were not native to the region, he said.
Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Peter Carberry said the efforts of Indian farmers and administration were commendable as they were able to control the fall armyworm attack in just 12 months after it was first noticed in the country.
Found first in Karnataka during the 2018-19 kharif season, it spread to 18 States, particularly to maize and sorghum crops, in no time but was controlled effectively by following integrated pest management practices, including some traditional ones, he noted.
