Research on Prevention and Control Technology of Grassland Locust Plague in Hami City, Xinjiang

Nurlan HASEM

Abstract   Hami City is the main locust plague area in Xinjiang. In the past， chemical pesticide control of locusts was mainly adopted， which not only cost a lot of manpower， material and financial resources， but also killed natural enemies of locusts and other insects due to the extensive use of chemical pesticides. As a result， the natural ecological environment of grassland was damaged and polluted to varying degrees， while the grassland ecosystem was deteriorating day by day. Since 2004， the prevention and control of grassland locusts has been carried out by chicken herding， duck herding， nesting for attracting birds， as well as biological and plant pesticides. In particular， the proportion of rosy starling control technology in grassland locust control has increased year by year， and the grassland ecosystem has recovered significantly.

Key words   Locust plague; Rosy starling; Biological control

Occurrence and Distribution of Locusts in Hami City

There are 4.193 5 million hm 2 of natural grassland in Hami City， accounting for 29.4% of the city’s total land area. Specifically， the available natural grassland area is 3.900 7 million hm 2， accounting for 93% of the total natural grassland area. There are 22 locust plague areas in Hami City， with a total area of 342 300 hm 2， accounting for 12.88% of the city’s net area of natural grassland. There are more than 80 species of locusts in Hami City， distributed from lowland salinized meadows at an altitude of about 700 m to high mountains and alpine grassland at an altitude above 2 500 m. The dominant species of locusts in grassland are  Gomphocerus sibiricus， Calliptamus italicas， Locusta migratoria migratoria， Dociostaurus raussi kraussi， Oedaleus decorus， Bryoderma gebleri， Myremleotettix palpalis， etc.  The main occurrence area of locusts is from west to east on the northern slope of East Tianshan， from the Mount Pao Ma in Balikun County to Majuangou of Kuisu Town， Yiwu Racecourse， Baishitou， the piedmont plain of Dazigou in Yiwu County and alpine belts， as well as spring， autumn and summer grasslands in the middle and lowland areas of southern Tianshan， and meanwhile，  L. migratoria  are distributed in the farmland of Naomaohu Town in Yiwu County， Erbao Town in Yizhou District， and Daquanwan Township and surrounding lowland salinized meadows. The locusts in Hami generally occur one generation a year， with concentrated occurrence time， strong suddenness， high density and large affected area.

Main Control Methods of Grassland Locusts 

Chemical control 

Lindane for control of locusts

In the early 1950s， the locust control department of Hami City mainly promoted the use of simple hand-held dusters， three-purpose dusters and knapsack motor dusters to control locusts. "Anti-repair 600" large-scale axial-flow dusters were used for locust control. This type of machine can  adapt  to the operation of locust areas in various terrains. It has the advantages of high horsepower， high efficiency and fast speed. As the main large-scale ground machinery for locust control at that time， it played an important role in locust control at that time.

Ultra-low volume spray for locust control

From the mid-1970s to the end of the 1980s， the research and development of oil- and water-quality ultra-low-volume micro-spray spraying organophosphorus pesticide technology and preparations were carried out. After demonstration and promotion， it replaced the "lindane" conventional powder spraying technology， and produced a big leap in prevention and control technology. In 1975， the locust control headquarters of the autonomous region， Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other relevant scientific research units jointly carried out the experimental research of ultra-low volume spraying of organophosphorus pesticides malathion， dimethoate， dichlorvos， and cidial for locust control. The successful trials and large-scale promotion of new ultra-low volume spray technology and high-efficiency， low-toxicity， and low-residue organophosphorus insecticides for locust control brought locust control technologies to a new level.

Integrated Control Stage with Biological Control as the Mainstay

After entering the 1990s， the grassland locust control technology in Hami City has gradually reached the stage of comprehensive control. While carrying out chemical control through the use of the oil- and water-quality ultra-low volume micro-spray technology， the research and promotion of biological locust control technologies such as herding chickens and ducks for controlling locusts and artificial nesting for attracting rosy starlings has been gradually carried out.

Attracting birds by building nests to control locusts

Attracting birds by building nests to control locusts is to create conditions suitable for the survival and living of rosy starlings and other birds mainly through man-made engineering measures in grassland locust areas， including building bird nests， protecting natural bird nests and providing water sources，  etc. ， so as to attract rosy starlings and other birds to live together， inhabit and multiply in the locust plague areas. By their feeding on locusts， the density of locust populations can be effectively reduced and the harm of locusts to grasslands can be reduced.

Hami’s projects of attracting birds by building nests

In 1968， the Hamid locust staff made a nesting area with wood in Saerqiaoke Township， Balikun County， and hung wooden boxes on treetops in the pine forest in mountains to build bird nests for rosy starlings. Due to the lack of understanding of the living habits of rosy starlings， the experiment was unsuccessful. In 1987， in the Mount Pao Ma area of the Saerqiaoke locust plague area， stones on the mountain were used for forming piers to attract rosy starlings to perch and kill locusts， which achieved initial success in the very year.  Since 2004， Hami area has fully implemented the principle of grassland biological disaster prevention and control of "prominent use of biological control technology， prevention and control of grassland environmental pollution， and maintenance of ecological balance"， and began to organize and implement biological locust control work with the main content of attracting birds by building nests.

Construction of the demonstration zone for attracting birds by building nests in Hami City

Hami City has gradually built a demonstration area of about 73 300 hm 2 for attracting birds by building nests to control locusts with the Baishitou area of Hami as the core， including the Majuangou of Yiwu Racecourse， Songshutang， Liutiao River， Beishan of Balikun County and Qianshan of Yiwu County. Bird nests are built in this area， and scientific control measures are taken to reasonably control the density of locusts， so as not to meet the feeding needs of rosy starlings while not causing losses in agricultural and animal husbandry production. The purpose of attracting rosy starlings to control grassland locusts has been successfully achieved. Rosy starlings in this area have grown from nothing. The population of rosy starlings has expanded year by year， and the distribution has become wider and wider.

Main distribution range of bird nests in Hami City

At present， bird nests in Hami City are mainly distributed in Mount Pao Ma， Erquan and Linjiataizi in the Saerqiaoke locust plague area of  Balikun County， Shuangquanzi， Kuangou， Xiaoxionggou， Shuigou and Tanyaogou in the Dahe Beishan locust plague area， Daquanwan in the Huayuan and Shirenzi locust plague area， Xiaogou  in Hongshan  Kuisu locust plague area， Baishitou locust plague area in Yizhou District and Qianshan locust plague area in Yiwu County.

Number of bird nests built in Hami City

By 2021， the city had built a total of 18 875 m 3 of bird nests with brick-concrete and rockfill structures. Specifically， the total volume of brick-concrete and rock-fill bird nests built in Balikun County reached 13 150 m 3; the total volume of brick-concrete and rock-fill bird nests built in Yizhou District reached 4 394 m 3; and the total volume of brick-concrete and rock-fill bird nests built in Yiwu County reached 1 331 m 3.

Benefits of rosy starlings against locusts

Rosy starlings eat locusts as their main food， and they eat 120-180 locusts every day. They can be regarded as the main force of biological locust eradication， and are affectionately called "iron armored soldiers" by the masses. According to the calculation that each pair of birds breeds 5 nestlings and feeds on an average of 150 locusts per day， each pair of adult birds （calculated on the basis of 80 d） and the nestlings bred （calculated on the basis of 60 d） will eliminate more than 70 000 locusts in one control period. That is to say， if the population density of locusts is calculated at 30 locusts/m 2， the area of locust control can reach 0.233 hm 2 for each pair of rosy starlings attracted. Therefore， in the areas where rosy starlings prey on locusts， the population density has dropped significantly， so they play an important role in the control of locust disasters.

Formulation and publication of the  construction and acceptance standard for the locust control project of attracting birds by building nests

In order to facilitate the standardized management of the construction and acceptance of Hami’s locust control project of attracting birds by building nests and ensure that the construction units and personnel can correctly implement the construction in accordance with the standard， Hami Locust and Rodent Prediction and Prevention Station summarized many years of work experience on the basis of many discussions， and after repeated revisions， Construction and Acceptance Standard for the Locust Control Project of Attracting Birds by Building Nests was compiled and reported to Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau of the Autonomous Region for the record. It was issued and implemented by Hami Regional Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau on August 23， 2016.

Chicken herding for locust control

Situation of locust prevention and control by herding chickens. Chicken herding is a biological locust control measure for reducing locust density and effectively preventing locust disasters by herding chickens feeding on locusts in locust occurrence areas. According to records， Balikun County began to explore and carry out the work of chicken grazing for controlling locusts as early as 1965. In the early summer of that year， when the outbreak of locusts entered the farmland， in order to prevent and control locusts， chickens raised by farmers were collected in Banfanggou， Kuisu Township to control locust， and certain results were achieved. From June to July in 1969， the "Wu·Qi" control station at that time made a measurement of the amount of locusts eaten by chickens， and each chicken could eat 750-1 049 locusts per day. In 1981， a chicken locust control experiment was carried out referring to the experience of raising chickens for controlling locusts in the Altai region. In June of the same year， Balikun  Locust  Control Workstation applied for the "Chicken-raising Locust Control Project"， a key scientific and technological project plan in Hami City， which started from 1981 to 1987. A total of  62 135  chickens grazed were put in each year， and the total control area was 45 733 hm 2， which achieved high benefits and won several awards. Specifically，  Grassland Chicken-herding Locust Control Experiment and Promotion  won the second prize of scientific and technological progress in Hami area in 1986;  Research and Promotion of Locust Control by Herding Chickens  won the second prize of the Autonomous Region Science and Technology Progress Award in 1988; and  Research and Promotion of Locust Control by Herding Chickens  won the fourth prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award （collective） in 1989.

Duck herding for locust control 

Promotion situation of locust prevention and control by herding ducks

Since 2004， more than 200 000 ducklings of Huabian ducks， mule ducks， laying ducks， Beijing meat ducks and other varieties have been transferred from Sichuan through trains and planes for many years. In the form of centralized and household breeding， duck herding and locust control work were carried out in the second company in Yiwu Horse Farm， Songshutang， Liutiao River， Baishitou in Yizhou District， Tashui， and Qianshan Township in Yiwu County.

"Hami Grassland Locust Control Technology Research Project" organized by Hami Locust and Rodent Prediction and Prevention Station from 2004 to 2007 achieved remarkable results， passed the inspection and received high praise from National Animal Husbandry Station. The "National Conference on the Promotion of Biological Locust Control Technology" was held in Hami City. The grassland biological locust control work in Hami City has played an exemplary role in promoting biological locust control work nationwide.

Advantages of duck herding for locust control

First， duck herding is easy to manage， and the grazing process can be regarded as a team operation. The net-type prey on locusts has a good control effect. Second， ducks have a large food intake， which is 3-4 times that of chickens. On average， one duck can control 1 hectare of grassland in one control period， which is twice as much as chicken grazing. Third， ducks have a strong ability to resist changes in the natural environment and are easy to manage， and they have a high survival rate. Fourth， the adaptability of ducks is relatively strong. After brooding， ducklings that reach the age of about 20 d can catch and eat locusts directly on the grassland without training.

Benefit evaluation of duck herding for locust control

Raising chickens and ducks to control locusts not only reduces the harm of locusts to grasslands， reduces environmental pollution， and protects the grassland ecological environment， but also drives the development of poultry farming， increases the economic income of farmers and herdsmen， and solves the problem of the employment problem of farmers and herdsmen， and herdsmen get out of poverty and become rich. Since 2007， the news pictures of Hami City encouraging， supporting and guiding farmers and herdsmen to herd chickens and ducks to control locusts have been published in People’s Daily， People’s Daily Overseas Edition， Science and Technology Daily， Xinjiang Daily， China Government Network and other news media and hundreds of websites for five years. High economic， social and ecological benefits have been  achieved.

Scientific and Technological Achievements Made in the Biological Control of Grassland locusts

Over the years， Hami City has vigorously promoted the comprehensive management policy of grassland biological disasters， which focuses on biological control and supplemented by chemical control. Adopting a number of biological control measures such as herding chickens and ducks， attracting birds by building nests， biological pesticides and plant pesticides， comprehensive management has achieved remarkable results and won some awards：

① The completed grassland locust biological control technology research project was approved as the scientific and technological research achievement of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in November 2007.

② In August 2011， the research on the biological control technology of grassland diseases and pests won the second prize of the 2008-2009 Science and Technology Progress Award in Hami Region.

Conclusions

Biological locust control methods follow the natural ecological balance of the grassland， and achieve the purpose of effective control of grassland biological disasters depending on the relationship between rosy starlings， chickens and ducks and grassland locusts in the food chain. Biological control can effectively reduce biological disasters while better protecting and restoring the grassland ecosystem， avoiding the long-term use of chemical pesticides to pollute the grassland ecosystem， and reducing the input of human， material and financial resources in the prevention and control process， so that the grassland ecosystem enters a virtuous cycle， which is in line with the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.

Agricultural Biotechnology 2022

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 Editor： Yingzhi GUANG   Proofreader： Xinxiu ZHU