By Ifham Nizam

Farmers in some districts are complaining that the Sena caterpillar is destroying their maize cultivation this year as well, but the Agricultural Technical Department yesterday claimed the possibility of the pest causing major damage to the maize cultivation was still low.

Anura Wijetunga, the Director (Technical) of the Ministry of Agriculture, says that currently the Sena caterpillar is found in 10-15 percent of the maize cultivation. Therefore, till the maize crop matures in about a month, the crop should be carefully taken care of.He said that chemical substances should not be used to control the Sena caterpillar damage as soon as it is seen even though it temporarily minimised the damage, it could damage the maize crop due to the destruction of the natural predators of the caterpillar.

Due to the dry weather of the past few days, the Sena caterpillar damage had increased, but with the rain, the damage is controlled, he maintained.However, according to the research conducted by the Department of Agriculture for three years now, a parasite capable of controlling the Sena Caterpillar has been identified.

The parasite called TELENOMUS REMUS grows in the natural environment. It destroys SENA caterpillar eggs and thus affects the distribution of the caterpillar.Wijetunga said that the parasite should grow along with the spread of the sena caterpillar, and further research would be conducted in this regard.