Mumbai:
Rats destroy over 17 lakh tonnes of staple and other crops in Punjab every year,
posing a serious threat. "Rodents,
which are a serious problem for the farming sector, damage 4 per cent, 3.7 per
cent and 11 per cent of wheat, rice and sugarcane output respectively in a year
in Punjab," said H S Sehgal, head, department of zoology, Punjab Agricultural
University (PAU). Rats
destroy almost 5.87 lakh tones of wheat, 3.86 lakh tones of rice and 7.21 lakh
tones of sugarcane while contaminating the crop with their feces, urine and fur,
he said. PAU
has devised three measures of controlling rats under an All India Network Project
(AINP), which include environmental sanitation, rat proofing and destroying them.
also see : General
reports on Economy Other
reports on Trade
|