This disease is going to affect the ready mustard crop, just follow these 5 tricks for prevention

The mustard crop sown in the month of October-November in entire Jharkhand including Hazaribagh district has reached the stage of growth at this time. Plants are growing rapidly in the fields, but along with this, a big problem is also emerging in front of the farmers. The outbreak of leaf-eating caterpillars in mustard crop is being seen in many areas, due to which the concern of the farmers has increased. This caterpillar rapidly eats the green leaves of the plants and weakens the crop, which has a direct impact on the production.

In such a situation, if this pest is not controlled in time, the mustard crop may suffer huge losses. In the initial stage, this caterpillar makes small holes in the leaves, but as the number increases, it cleans the entire leaf. Many times farmers take this problem lightly, which later results in less flowers, less grains and less oil percentage.

Regarding this serious problem, Dr. Arvind Kumar Singh, agricultural scientist of Isect University, Hazaribagh, said that the incidence of leaf-eating caterpillars often increases at the beginning of winter, especially when there is more moisture in the fields. In such a situation, farmers should monitor their fields regularly, so that pest infestation can be caught at the initial stage itself.

He told that there is an easy trick to stop this. The field should be inspected regularly. Go to the field at least twice a week and check the leaves. If holes, traps or caterpillars are visible on the leaves, take immediate action. Hand picking and destroying the caterpillars in the initial stages is also very effective, especially in small farms.

He told that farmers can set pheromone traps to deal with this. By placing 4-5 pheromone traps per acre, male insects are attracted and their numbers are reduced. This breaks the reproductive cycle of the caterpillars and the infestation is gradually controlled. This method is also environment friendly.

Also told that by mixing 1500 to 2000 ml of Neem oil in 200 liters of water and spraying it per acre, good control of the caterpillar can be achieved. Neem solution, along with killing the insect, also reduces its appetite, thereby preventing damage.

He further said that by giving more nitrogen the plants become soft, which attracts caterpillars more. Therefore, farmers should use fertilizer in balanced quantity and must use sulphur, which makes the plants stronger and reduces pest infestation.

Dr. Arvind Kumar Singh said that if the infestation becomes severe then the recommended insecticide should be sprayed only after the advice of an agricultural expert. By using the medicine at the right time and in the right quantity, the mustard crop can be protected from leaf-eating caterpillars and farmers can get better production.