Residents of a few villages in Sringeri and N.R.Pura in the district have spotted grasshoppers attacking areca plantation. This has caused some worry following reports of locust attack in northern States of the country.
A few days ago, the grasshoppers, also known as coffee grasshoppers, were spotted at Seethur in N.R.Pura taluk. Farmers informed officers of the Horticulture Department. An expert from the Agriculture Research Centre at Mudigere visited the places.
Krishna, senior assistant director of the Horticulture Department at Sringeri, told The Hindu that a scientist had studied this development. “Now, the grasshoppers have been spotted at Tekkur in Sringeri taluk. These are different from locusts noticed in large numbers in northern States. The grasshoppers do not attack in large numbers. We have suggested medicine to avoid them”, he said.
