‘Desert Locust’: A Menace to Indian Agriculture and Economy

Abstract

Indian agriculture and economy is currently at risk due to the upsurge in infestation of farmlands and fields with ‘desert locus’ which has assumed a severe shape in several states of India. The locusts have migrated from East African countries like Somalia, Ethiopia, etc. via Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to reach the Thar deserts of Rajasthan, where they could find shelter and breed to a large extent, favored by high temperature and sufficient rainfall, thereby encountering a population explosion. Although the locusts prefer solitary behavior, food scarcity and extreme conditions turn them gregarious and coherent by nature. It is believed that one square kilometer of a locust swarm contains 80, 000 adults that can daily consume food equivalent to 35,000 people. This statistics is really alarming, since it speaks of the magnitude of the problem of acute food crises that a nation like India would encounter if the movement of these locusts is not monitored and restricted. Understanding the biology and social behavior of the insects, and implementing sound pest management programs will help us to address and mitigate the problem, and safeguard the crops and harvestable species against economic loss.