Influences of desert locust on cotton planting in India and Pakistan

1. Active measures taken by India and Pakistan on locust control
According to the May report of Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, successive waves of spring-bred swarms from Iran and Pakistan will arrive in Rajasthan throughout June with additional swarms coming from East Africa to Gujarat and Rajasthan from early July onwards. Locusts that arrive in advance of the monsoon rains are likely to settle in cropping areas or continue eastwards to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and perhaps as far east as Bihar and Odisha. The locusts in the central northern states will oscillate east and westwards before returning to Rajasthan with the onset of the monsoon in early July. Swarm mobility will decline as they mature and lay eggs in Rajasthan. Early breeding could produce hopper bands by the end of the forecast period.