Over the past two years, hundreds of Indian farmers have remained helpless before an army worm attacks their corn, but not so long ago they found a strong ally in the fight against pest.

Recent rains brought them much-needed relief by destroying all the pest larvae in Trichi (one of the names for the city of Tiruchirappalli in India, Tamil Nadu) and neighboring areas.

Farmers said the larvae that lived in the whorls died after rainwater seeped into them. This will help farmers who grow 3.5 hectares of crops to get a good harvest, they said.

Army Worm

An attack by army worms led to extensive crop destruction last year. Within a short period of time, pests spread rapidly, destroying the crop, ignoring various pest control measures.

Chief Minister Eppadadi said that about 62% of corn crops across the state of Tamil Nadu were attacked by a worm.

Typically, corn is grown in Thurayur, Uppiliyapuram, Vayyamatti, Pullampadi and Manachanallure. However, over the past two years, an army worm destroyed almost all of the corn in the area, causing enormous damage to crops in Karur, Perambalur, last year.

Later, representatives of agriculture spread information among farmers about the need to implement an integrated pest control mechanism consisting of a pheromone trap and biocontrol methods to control the worm.