Summary:
THE AGRICULTURE department will start monitoring the Fall Army Worm (FAW), starting this kharif season by using their GPS-based pest monitoring system called CropSap. More than 13,000 ground staff members are required to map the areas designated to them twice a week and upload pest infestation reports using geographic information system (GIS) tagged mobile phones. Since then, they have reported FAW in fields of maize, jowar and sugarcane in western Maharashtra. This follows reports of infestation on jowar, sugarcane and maize crops in various parts of the state, which has set alarm bells ringing in the agricultural community. Officials said the final green signal for including FAW for surveillance is expected on May 3..