Tackling the locust menace

Effective monitoring for timely warning and prompt large-scale control operations, preferably through aerial spraying, seems imperative for good results

Desert locusts, a type of grasshopper, are the most destructive of all the pests. They are also very prolific breeders and voracious eaters, devouring any vegetation that comes their way. Moreover, they are good fliers and if aided by winds can cover up to 150 km in a day to migrate to areas across countries and geographical regions.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, the current locust outbreak, spotted first in East Africa in March 2019, surfaced later in areas around the Red Sea and Southwest Asia, including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Thousands of hectares of cropland have already been ravaged by locusts in