North Lakhimpur: Farmers in Assam’s Lakhimpur district are facing difficulties as army worms have damaged growing paddy crops over the past few days.
After nearly a month of dry weather caused cracks in the fields, swarms of these nocturnal insects, also known as elephant bugs, have invaded paddy fields with newly planted crops.
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The worms have eaten large portions of the paddy overnight, leaving many fields barren. The worst-affected areas include Karhi Pukuhuri, Sandah Khowa, and Khara Pathar in Bihpuria under the Bihpuria Revenue Circle.
A farmer from Karhi Pukhuri reported that the worms destroyed his 50 bighas of paddy plantation.
“I recently started transplanting paddy using deep boring water pumps because the fields had dried and cracked due to drought. But now these worms have worsened the situation,” he said, expressing frustration over the lack of support from the local agriculture department despite repeated requests. He added that 200 bighas of paddy fields near his plantation were destroyed last night.
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Farmers have reported similar worm attacks in villages like Borbali, Sri Bhuyan, Kamalpur, Thakurdoloni, and Pithaguri in Narayanpur, as well as in Kachuwa, Mazgaon, Ekadohiya, Bokulguri, Kopowdubi, Namgila, Haridas, Latabari, Bonpuroi, Aarimora, Teteliguri, Purani Bheti, Jamuguri, Bothakhona, Mazghat, Deeghaliya, Gohain Pukhuri, and Borpathar in Dholpur under the Narayanpur Revenue Circle.
Farmers are spraying chemical pesticides to control the worm infestation, but many report that vendors are charging higher prices for pesticides, taking advantage of the situation.
The Sub Divisional Agriculture Officers in Narayanpur and Bihpuria have begun distributing pesticides to affected farmers. Additionally, KVK-Lakhimpur has distributed awareness leaflets to help farmers manage the worm attacks.
Worms also damaged crops in this region during the early harvest season in November 2023, affecting areas like Kharapathar, Sandahkhowa, Bangalmora, and Laluk. They similarly infested Lakhimpur’s paddy fields in the summer of 2016.