Hyderabad:The tea mosquito bug (T-bug), usually found in tea plantations, is a sucking pest that attacks plants on a large scale. In the past, this pest has attacked and damaged cashew plantations as well. The tea bugs suck the sap of plants’ soft issues, causing the leaves to shrivel up. Two years ago, this pest was first spotted affecting neem trees in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The disease then spread to Andhra and Rayalaseema, too.
Ramoji Film City, which is home to thousands of neem trees, a few as old as 25 years, were also infected with the disease. Despite having sprayed insecticides, the infestation could not be stopped. Older trees were noted to have been quickly affected while younger ones suffered less damage from the bug.
However, in the first week of February, new shoots were found emerging from the infected branches. Upon further examination, it was found that trees, which were watered more often were recovering better. Beds were immediately dug around about 2,100 trees and were supplied with plenty of water. Over 50 per cent of trees that dried up, began recovering and sprouting leaves by Day 5.
The trees are currently being watered for the second time. Horticulturists at Ramoji Film City noticed that additional watering has been helping the trees, which have been shedding leaves during autumn. Tankers and fire engines are also being employed to save thousands of neem trees at the Film City. Being a deciduous variety, the neem tree can recover from the disease with adequate watering. The same procedure can be implemented across the state to save the miracle tree from infestation.
The tea mosquito bug has been rampantly attacking neem trees in Andhra Pradesh, especially in the Rayalaseema region. Of late, the phenomenon spread to Telangana, affecting the neem trees here. Due to climate change, greater than average rainfall, and humidity; the t-bug infestation has been rampant in Telangana and Maharashtra.
Lakhs of neem trees died of this bug attack. The bug first attacks the tender shoots emerging from the tree by drilling holes into the bark and sucking the sap. While puncturing the sap, they release poisonous oral secretions into the bark, which kill the tissues. As the bug spreads quite rapidly, the branches of the tree begin to dry and leaves to wilt, causing the tree to dieback. The infestation is found to be more prevalent in areas with scarce water supply.
The t-bug infestation has taken agronomists and scientists by surprise since the neem tree is known per se for its medicinal and antifungal properties. Agricultural universities conducted thorough research to find out that spraying the tree with fungicides and insecticides would save it from dieback.
