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Piti Makuna wreaking havoc on trees and plants in the
country
By Risidra Mendis
A
small fly believed to have entered the country through
imported plants has caused the destruction of hundreds
of fruit, vegetable and flowering plants.
This
fly is believed to have entered the country in mid 2007.
While the fly continues to rapidly multiply and destroy
the remaining fruit, vegetable and flower trees, the
Agriculture Department is yet to come up with a solution
to the problem.
The
fly identified by the Department of Agriculture as the
Piti Makuna is known to produce a large number of eggs
at a time. Agriculture Department officials are now
looking at the option of bringing in another insect to
control the rapid spread of the Piti Makuna.
Speaking to The Sunday Leader Agriculture Instructor,
Agriculture Department, Rasika Kumarasiri said according
to research carried out by the Agriculture Department
the fly is known to mainly attack plants and trees that
contain milk.
"Breadfruit, jack, papaw, manioc, mango, vegetable
plants such as chillies, brinjals and varieties of
citrus such as lime have been badly affected by the Piti
Makuna. However the worst affected out of the lot are
the papaw trees," Kumarasiri said.
Kumarasiri added that the Agriculture Department has
reason to believe that the fly has come from either
Russia or an Asian country as plants and trees in these
countries have been identified with the same disease.
"The
Piti Makuna lays around 500 to 600 eggs at a time. The
female fly stays on the underside of the leaf with the
cocoon that contains the eggs. The cocoon is like a
bundle of cotton wool. The male fly flies away and
infects other trees while the female injects these trees
and plants and extracts the milk or juices. The infected
trees gradually grow weak and die within two to three
months. This disease can also be spread by the wind,"
Agriculture Instructress, Dehiwela-Ratmalana Agriculture
Department Chithrani Menikge said.
According to Kumarasiri Galle, Matara, Polonnaruwa and
Anuradhapura are some of the badly affected areas in the
country.
However according to some residents Araliya trees and a
large number of big trees have been affected in Colombo.
"All
my vegetable plants and banana trees were destroyed due
to the Piti Makuna. The Piti Makuna destroys mainly
vegetable and flower plants. But I have managed to save
most of my plants and trees by cutting down affected
trees or by spraying them with a mixture of soap and
kerosene," says former President, Dehiwela- Mount
Lavinia Horticultural Society Sunila Rajawasan.
"If
the trees are badly affected we advice people to cut
them down and burn them. Don't leave infected leaves on
the ground as these can spread to other trees. All
infected leaves should be burned. The other option is to
hold a strong flow of water under the leaves of the big
trees. If there is a heavy shower the spreading of this
fly can be reduced. The other option is to mix two
teaspoons of soap powder with two teaspoons of kerosene
into one litre of water and spray the flowering plants.
However for the fruit and vegetable plants only the soap
solution with water should be used," Kumarasiri said.
He
added that people should refrain from taking infected
plants to other areas.
Other
options as suggested by the Agriculture Department is to
spray Thayomethocksam, Kohinor 200 SL (imidacloprid
200gm), Asitamfrid, Mackdhoate or a solution of dog
shampoo mixed with water.
"The
Agriculture Department, Ratmalana, has conducted many
awareness programmes on the disease for school children
and the public. Agriculture Department offices in
different parts of the country are conducting awareness
programmes for the public," Menikge said.
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