News
Caterpillar munches through Kalpitiya veggie crop
A voracious pest is chewing up acres of vegetable cultivations including cabbage and beetroot in Kalpitiya.
The destroyer is a caterpillar named “senna caterpillar’’, that has appeared in the Puttlam District for the first time. It had been found in other districts.
Farmers say the caterpillar chews on the veggies at night and can not be destroyed with insecticide they use now.
A cabbage grower in the Illanthadiya area, Shashika Pushpakumara said that much of his crop has been destroyed. But he is yet to find a solution.
“So far, at least 10 acres of my cabbage plantation has been destroyed. I am appealing to the authorities to help us to eradicate this caterpillar,” he said.
Puttlam deputy agriculture officer, M.S.Wanninayake, said the pest is yet to definitively identified. “I have informed our officers to take urgent action to control this menace,” he said.
A farmer looks on in despair at his destroyed cabbage crop
Destructive Senna caterpillars
Closeup of the eaten up cabbage leaves