How to control rodent population

Kohima, December 6 (MExN): Dr. A.M.K. Mohan Rao, a renowned specialist in rodents, has made a number of vital recommendations to control the rodent problem in the state. He had visited Nagaland in November to assess the rodent situation, as a consultant from the Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi. He is a renowned scientist on the subject, in India as well as abroad and a recipient of the FAO, Rome Award on rodent management.

During his visit, Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Chumben Murry highlighted the plight of farmers particularly in Peren district. Several meetings were also held with the top officials of the Forest department. Information was collected from the department, Nagaland Bamboo Mission and the Agriculture departments.

Some of the option and recommendations of Dr. Rao for rodent management included, that using owls or raptors at this stage would have a “bouncing affect” as removing of part of the highly reproducing population would finally lead to further increase in prodigality. It would be the same case with using the local bamboo traps, which would remove part of the rodent population, leading to further stimulation in prodigality.

Often, governments resort to bounty payment system for rodent management by payment of money on production of rat tails. It is a worldwide accepted fact that bounty payment system would not yield desirable control success. In a fast reproducing population, if partial removal of population is resorted, it would lead to increase in productivity of the surviving populations. As such this system needs to be discouraged, the recommendations said. It would work in specific time frame and specific locations in order to motivate the people to go for rodent control. Incentive for trap preparations would yield better results in long range and awareness of using traps at appropriate time of the crop season to be created.

Measures using poison is one of the most effective and feasible methods left over to reduce their numbers in short time, it was recommended. However, poisoning measures are likely to affect the non-target animals. While employing traps by the farming community in the initial stages of rice crop in forthcoming jhum/kharif rice crop, attempts are required to use poisoning measures with anticoagulants like bromadiolone or coumatetralyl at community levels. For the safety of non-target animals and sustained baiting, while using anticoagulant baits, it is desirable to use bait stations made with the hollow bamboo shoots. Since large-scale rodent control operations would be undertaken with the technical assistance of the department of Agriculture, awareness creation among the farming community should be made initially.

Dr. Rao also undertook field visits and had interactions with the affected villagers in Dungki, Lamhai, Deukoram, and old Jalukie on November 27 where villagers expressed their fears for the coming years and shortage of rice even for the coming festive season. They requested for rice supply to tide over the lean months. They also said to have started searching for jobs in the neighboring villages.

The field observations made in the harvested fields indicated that the damage belongs to forest dwelling rodents and also burrowing ones in the jhum fields. The estimate made on the damage to rice crop in two randomly selected fields indicated total tiller damage in jhum rice fields. However, in the foothills of Dimapur district, burrows of lesser bandicoot, Bandicota Bengalensis could be seen and its presence was confirmed after catching two lesser bandicoots and with the distribution of faecal pellets in the storage huts of the villages.

It was informed that most of the crops except ginger, suffered rodent damage. Hence cultivation of ginger or medicinal plants may reduce rodent related losses. Mizoram state is already implementing this system and it is understood that the results are positive.

During the field visit, an attempt was made to identify the rodent pest species observed and collected at Old Jalukie village, Peren district. Similarly, in Hetoi village of Dimapur district, lesser bandicoot was collected. As per this attempt white bellied rats, Niviventer mentosus and lesser bandicoot, bandicota bengalensis were identified as major rodent species in jhum fields causing enormous crop loss. The alarming part of observation during the current visit is on the spread of lesser bandicoot infestation in the foot hill areas of Dimapur district.
(Inputs from DIPR )



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