(a) whether it is a fact that crops have been getting damaged across the Union Territory of Ladakh in recent years due to the infestation of fall armyworm which causes extensive damage to crops;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the details of steps taken/being taken by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in this regard?
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
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(a) & (b) No crop damage has been reported in the Union Territory of Ladakh due to Fall Army Worm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda in recent years.
(c) The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has undertaken following measures regarding Fall Armyworm:
(i) ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research organized meetings on ‘Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for Maize Crop with special reference to Fall Army Worm in North Western Himalayan region’ for the Agricultural Extension officers of State Departments and Scientists of ICAR/KVK/SAU of Jammu and Kashmir on 18th August, 2020 and 10th September, 2020. The updated package of practices (POP) for management of FAW on maize was shared regularly with Dry Land Agricultural Research Station, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science & Technology (Kashmir).
(ii) ICAR- National Research Centre for Integrated Pest Management (NCIPM), New Delhi, in collaboration with ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research, Ludhiana; ICAR- National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR), Bengaluru; Maize Research Centre, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), Hyderabad, (Telangana) and Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Chhindwara - Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya (JNKVV), Jabalpur has initiated a project since 2019 on ‘Development, Validation and Promotion of IPM strategy in maize with special focus on Fall Army Worm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda management’ at Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad, Telangana.
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