The U.N. Food andAgriculture Organization says experts are in a ?race against time? to stop a?vast plague? of Armyworm caterpillars in Liberia. The Liberian government onMonday declared the infestation a national emergency.
As the Armywormscontinue their march, they devour vegetation and pollute wells and streams withexcrement. If their advance in north and central Liberia is not stopped soon,other West African countries could soon be at risk.
Experts from theFAO and other agencies are still trying to determine to best course of actionto stop the Armyworms. Winfred Hammond, the FAO?s permanent representative inLiberia, says they first have to determine the exact species of the pest.
?The exact speciesis yet to be determined because it?s easier to do that with adults and we?rebeginning to have some adults emerging. So we can get that confirmed very soon.It is important with Armyworms to be sure about the species because you may bedepending on pheromone traps and things like that for their control,? he says.
The pheromone trapsuse hormones to attract the pests once they become moths. But specificpheromones must be used for a particular species, otherwise the traps won?twork. That?s why the species must be identified.
?Those pheromonetraps perform two functions. They help you detect the presence (of theArmyworms), but they also help you to attract them to one spot where you caneasily kill them with pesticides, safer pesticides. You don?t want to sprayindiscriminately pesticides all over the place. You want to target the pest,?he says.
Introducingviruses, bacteria and fungus into the Armyworm population can also help controlthe pests. In the meantime, Hammond says the Armyworms are spreading rapidly.
?There are reports106 villages have now been affected. It has gone from about 46 villages about aweek or so ago to now 106 towns and villages. We also have confirmed reportsthat Guinea-Conakry ? that two towns about 25 kilometers from the Liberian borderhave also been infected,? he says.
Hammond says thatit?s currently the dry season in north and central Liberia so there are fewcrops in the field for the Armyworms to eat. But if they?re able to launch,what?s called, a secondary infestation, new Armyworms may emerge just in timeto eat new crops.
One female can layas many as one thousand eggs in seven days. When they evolve into moths, naturedetermines what happens next.
?They move indifferent directions depending on the wind direction and also on the speed of wind.They could go as far as a thousand kilometers from the spot where they werebreeding. And then you could have in the same place a secondary infestation ornew source of infestation in another country altogether,? he says.
The FAO officialsays experts hope to know within three or four days how and when they cancontrol the problem.