Urgent surveillance required
A winged intruder, suspected to have originated from Pakistan or China is wreaking havoc on poplar trees in Ladakh. According to scientists who have documented the invasive moth species Pheosia albivertex for the first time in the region.
Scientists from academic institutions in Ladakh are urging heightened surveillance and efforts to curb the expansion of this moth. Which is currently in its early stages of spread and dispersal in the Suru valley in the Kargil district.
Scientists say:”The caterpillar stages of the Pheosia moth feed on poplar tree leaves.They can completely defoliate a fully grown tree within two months of infestation.”
Pheosia moths are found in various regions globally, including Japan, Mongolia, western Siberia, central Asia, Turkey, and Europe. Trans-Himalayan areas in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan previously recorded Pheosia albivertex .
In 2019, the Zoological Survey of India recorded Pheosia albivertex in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh but did not classify it as an invasive species.
“The Suru valley in Ladakh seems to provide favourable climatic conditions for the rapid growth and propagation of this pest,” says Mohammed Hussain, assistant professor of zoology at the University of Ladakh.
Hussain, along with Nassreen Fatima Kacho, a plant pathologist at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology, discovered the new pest feeding on poplar trees in Dyanguchay village in the Suru valley in 2019. Since then, the moths have spread to plantations near adjoining villages over the past three and a half years.
The moth was unintentionally introduced from neighbouring regions, potentially China or Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,suspect scientists. Although Kargil-Ladakh shares borders with China and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, there is no trans-border road or air connectivity. The scientists speculate that trucks and load carriers transporting produce from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir into the Kashmir valley may be a possible route for the moth’s entry into Ladakh.
Poplar trees are culturally significant and widely cultivated across regions like Kashmir, western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, and hilly areas of Bengal. In Ladakh, poplar trees are valued for wood used in timber, plywood, furniture, and firewood. Additionally, their dried leaves and twigs serve as essential fodder for livestock in the arid cold desert region.
Scientists at the entomology division of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi have verified the moth as a new pest, adding it to the list of the 133 known pests of poplar.
Also read:Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh lays foundation stone of the road project from Ramnagar to Udhampur
