Locust invasion follows drought to destroy crops in southern Ukraine

Prolonged drought and climate change have contributed to the spread of locusts, which are moving from the frontline regions and destroying this year's crop. About reported sergii Korniushenko, Agricultural Technology Development Manager of the Southern Region of LNZ Group, in a commentary to SuperAgronom.com.

According to Korniuchenko, the locust invasion that is currently being recorded in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions could have been predicted if the locusts' clutches had been monitored and the start of migration had been controlled.

"Let's just say that no one has conducted such monitoring, mainly because of the military operations, as the locusts were spreading from the frontline regions. Now it is very difficult to fight locusts, we need comprehensive measures," Korniushenko emphasized.

He added that earlier, during locust outbreaks, aviation was used to combat them, but now this method is impossible because of the military operations.

The situation is also complicated by the fact that the harvest in the southern regions, particularly in Mykolaiv, has already been destroyed by heat and drought, so farmers see no point in spending money on cultivating their fields.

"The sunflower is already burning because of the drought and heat, and farmers no longer expect a harvest. Accordingly, they have neither the means nor the desire to fight for such crops," the publication writes.

Systemic insecticides have a limited effect, as locusts die only after they eat the treated plant.

There are fumigation machines for quick treatment, but the direction of the pest's movement is difficult to predict because it often flies in the wind.

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