More than 2 million mu of natural poplar forests on both sides of the Tarim River are infested by insects And aircraft sprinkle medicine to save poplars

"The insect infestation of poplar forest in Kuqa County is very serious, the main insect pests are spring inchworm and Yang Mengni night moth, and the current insect population density has reached 20 to 24 heads per standard branch. If it is not prevented in time, the newly sprouted leaves of the poplar tree will be eaten all within a week. Tie Shan, deputy director of the Forestry Bureau of Xinjiang Kuqa County and director of the Hu Yanglin Management Station, said.

On the 17th, Tie Shan, who was directing the pest control work on the spot, asked the staff to cut a 15 cm long branch from a poplar tree on the spot, shake it a few times on a piece of white paper, and the dense insects fell. "There are 22 bugs shaking down on such a small branch, and more than 75% of the bugs that have reached the first age have reached the best time for control." If you kill them now, more than 90% of the bugs can be killed. Tie Shan said.

Spring inchworm, known locally as the "hanging ghost", this insect mainly harms tree species such as poplar trees and willow trees. The eggs of the spring inchworm begin to hatch in early to mid-March of each year, and enter the peak of harm from mid-to-late April to early May. When the insect infestation is severe, it can cause large-scale death of trees. Affected by the warm weather last winter and this spring, after entering April, more than 2 million mu of natural poplar forests on both sides of the Tarim River in the Aksu region of Xinjiang were severely infested with spring inchworm insects, which seriously threatened the survival of natural poplar forests.

At present, the most effective way to control diseases and insect pests in natural poplar forests is still fly prevention and medicine to kill. On April 16, the Forestry Department of the Autonomous Region launched the work of artificial flight anti-pest control, especially in the areas of Kucha, Shaya, Xinhe, Bachu and other areas where natural poplar forests along the Tarim River are concentrated, and multiple helicopters simultaneously launched flight anti-pest control.

According to the staff of the Forestry Department of the Autonomous Region, this year, Xinjiang's natural forests and plantation forests have reached an area of about 7 million mu of fly-proof insecticide forest land.