COUNTERMEASURES: Specialists leveled and buried affected crops at several farms in the county and set up pheromone traps to prevent the infestation from growing
Taipei Times
Date: Jun 15, 20190
By:: Wang Chun-chi / Staff reporter
With Hualien County yesterday becoming the latest area to be affected by fall armyworms that have been
Staff from the Taitung County Government Agriculture Department, the Taitung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station and the Luye Township Office destroy a corn field affected by fall armyworms in Luye yesterday.
Photo: Wang Hsiu-ting, Taipei Times
Thirty-nine fall armyworm sightings have been reported nationwide since Thursday, when the council asked local governments to check for the pest, Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said.
The moths likely flew across the Taiwan Strait from China, propelled by a southwesterly airstream, as their spread seemed sporadic rather than originating from a single location, he said.
As of press time last night, Kaohsiung, Nantou and Pingtung remained the only areas that had not been affected, council data showed. [FULL STORY]
