Specific Information Provider
BENGALURU: Heard about crop international relations? It exists.
In a contemporary case, the Global Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) within the Republic of Benin, West Africa helped India salvage its tapioca crop in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which was once infested with a overseas crop pest – Cassava mealybug – by way of exporting really helpful parasitoid, Anagyrus lopezi (Phenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero).
India is the #1 manufacturer of tapioca (contemporary tubers) on the earth with 35 tonnes/hectare as in opposition to the arena moderate of 10.76 tonnes/hectare, and exports round Rs 200 million value of value-added cassava merchandise annually to the Gulf and different nations.
“We were given the parasitoid Anagyrus lopezi in August 2021 and launched it lately after mass manufacturing to tapioca farmers in Yethapur and Salem in TN after following due protocols in protection, quarantine and specificity trials of the bioagent,” stated Dr AN Shylesha, fundamental scientist and Head of the Division, GermPlasm Conservation (GPC) & Usage, Nationwide Bureau of Agricultural Insect Sources (NBAIR), Bengaluru.
He’s the fundamental investigator within the casava mealybug undertaking and has senior entomologists Dr Sampath Kumar and Dr Mohan Kumar in his staff.
Casava mealybug is without doubt one of the maximum damaging pests of tapioca on the earth and local to South The us.
ALSO READ | Meals surprise: Crop-battering failures spotlight local weather risk
“It got here to India in 2020 thru an unknown supply. It multiplied very speedy and had destroyed 80 p.c of the tapioca crop in TN and Kerala. (The cassava mealybugs infested plant produces best rudimentary tubes, due to this fact, inflicting yield losses to the track of 70-80 p.c). The location had change into so serious that the farmers had been pondering of changing the crop with a replace crop,” stated Shylesha.
The entomologists at NBAIR scanned the literature and got here to understand that Thailand had this mealybug infestation some years in the past and had used the parasitoid Anagyrus lopezi for its bio-control. It was once then taken to Africa, the place it was once used for a similar objective.
“We therefore approached Thailand for the parasitoid however on account of the Covid-19 pandemic and a few different prevailing problems there they might now not free up it to us. We then contacted Dr Georgian of IITA, Benin they usually helped us,” added the executive entomologist.
“The parasitoid is operating really well at each those puts, the place it was once launched,” stated Director, NBAIR, SN Sushil. He defined that within the absence of an efficient indigenous bioagent to management crop infestation, a request for uploading a bioagent is positioned earlier than the Directorate of Plant Coverage, Quarantine & Garage (DPPQS), Govt of India.
“There are stringent rules for import of plant and plant merchandise beneath the Plant Quarantine Order, 2003,” he added.
India can export Anagyrus lopezi parasitoid to neighbouring nations on the subject of mealybug infestation there as a part of the global protocol of change of bioagents matter to clearance from the Nationwide Biodiversity Authority (NBA) for export of reside subject material.
BENGALURU: Heard about crop international relations? It exists.
In a contemporary case, the Global Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) within the Republic of Benin, West Africa helped India salvage its tapioca crop in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which was once infested with a overseas crop pest – Cassava mealybug – by way of exporting really helpful parasitoid, Anagyrus lopezi (Phenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero).
India is the #1 manufacturer of tapioca (contemporary tubers) on the earth with 35 tonnes/hectare as in opposition to the arena moderate of 10.76 tonnes/hectare, and exports round Rs 200 million value of value-added cassava merchandise annually to the Gulf and different nations.
“We were given the parasitoid Anagyrus lopezi in August 2021 and launched it lately after mass manufacturing to tapioca farmers in Yethapur and Salem in TN after following due protocols in protection, quarantine and specificity trials of the bioagent,” stated Dr AN Shylesha, fundamental scientist and Head of the Division, GermPlasm Conservation (GPC) & Usage, Nationwide Bureau of Agricultural Insect Sources (NBAIR), Bengaluru.
He’s the fundamental investigator within the casava mealybug undertaking and has senior entomologists Dr Sampath Kumar and Dr Mohan Kumar in his staff.
Casava mealybug is without doubt one of the maximum damaging pests of tapioca on the earth and local to South The us.
ALSO READ | Meals surprise: Crop-battering failures spotlight local weather risk
“It got here to India in 2020 thru an unknown supply. It multiplied very speedy and had destroyed 80 p.c of the tapioca crop in TN and Kerala. (The cassava mealybugs infested plant produces best rudimentary tubes, due to this fact, inflicting yield losses to the track of 70-80 p.c). The location had change into so serious that the farmers had been pondering of changing the crop with a replace crop,” stated Shylesha.
The entomologists at NBAIR scanned the literature and got here to understand that Thailand had this mealybug infestation some years in the past and had used the parasitoid Anagyrus lopezi for its bio-control. It was once then taken to Africa, the place it was once used for a similar objective.
“We therefore approached Thailand for the parasitoid however on account of the Covid-19 pandemic and a few different prevailing problems there they might now not free up it to us. We then contacted Dr Georgian of IITA, Benin they usually helped us,” added the executive entomologist.
“The parasitoid is operating really well at each those puts, the place it was once launched,” stated Director, NBAIR, SN Sushil. He defined that within the absence of an efficient indigenous bioagent to management crop infestation, a request for uploading a bioagent is positioned earlier than the Directorate of Plant Coverage, Quarantine & Garage (DPPQS), Govt of India.
“There are stringent rules for import of plant and plant merchandise beneath the Plant Quarantine Order, 2003,” he added.
India can export Anagyrus lopezi parasitoid to neighbouring nations on the subject of mealybug infestation there as a part of the global protocol of change of bioagents matter to clearance from the Nationwide Biodiversity Authority (NBA) for export of reside subject material.
