Herds of grasshoppers destroy plantations at Rayadurgam

Rayadurgam (Anantapur): Herds of grasshoppers flocked Rayadurg town in large numbers and destroyed plantation and greenery in Dasappa Road and damaged the crops and plantations by eating away leaves.

Agriculture Joint Director Abdul Basha told 'The Hans India' that the swarms which attacked the plants are grasshoppers and they are mistaken by people as locusts. These grasshoppers eat the Calotropis (Jilledu) plant and feast on its leaves as such they do not eat or damage their plant species, he said.

Farmers helplessly watched the grasshoppers which are mistaken to be locusts eating their plantation leaves, sources said. They tried in vain to scare away the grasshoppers. Agriculture scientists Johnson and Krishi Vignana Kendra scientists Murali Krishna and Rajesh of the local agriculture research station say that the grasshoppers mostly feast on Calotropis, a poisonous plant which yields thick milky juice. It is misused for suicide. They stated that there grasshoppers are less harmful as they eat only the leaves and does not eat fruits and other parts.

As of now there is no cause for concern as presently there are no crops in the region.