Plant disease prevention battle! Lychee stink bug egg-laying season: Hsinchu City rallies farmers to join the effort

In order to prevent and control early the bug crisis that the lychee stink bug brings to the lychee industry, the Hsinchu City Government has rallied farmers to join the disease prevention effort. Yesterday (the 25th), in the Farmers' Association extension classroom, it held the "2020 Lychee Stink Bug Awareness Seminar," inviting Professor Hsu Ju-chun of the Department of Entomology at National Taiwan University to lecture on "The Ecological Habits and Control Strategies of the Lychee Stink Bug" and "Biological Control of the Lychee Stink Bug - the Parasitic Natural Enemy Anastatus japonicus." The content was rich and practical, and attendees gained a great deal. Nearly 30 members of Hsinchu City's lychee production and marketing group and farmers took part together, showing great enthusiasm. At a time when everyone is preventing and controlling the novel coronavirus (commonly known as Wuhan pneumonia), the Hsinchu City Government, together with the Farmers' Association and farmers, has not forgotten to jointly prevent and control plant diseases, taking precautions in advance against crop pests in order to raise agricultural output.

The Hsinchu City Economic Development Department stated that the lychee stink bug mainly harms Sapindaceae plants such as lychee, longan and goldenrain tree. Among these, lychee is an important specialty industry of Hsinchu City. In order to reduce fruit farmers' control costs, the Hsinchu City Government subsidizes chemical control pesticides for Hsinchu City's lychee production and marketing group and releases the lychee stink bug's natural enemy, the Anastatus japonicus wasp (120,000 wasps), and at the seminar site promotes lychee stink bug control techniques, teaching lychee production and marketing group members to release Anastatus japonicus wasps, so as to improve control effectiveness, minimize damage, and ensure yield.

The Hsinchu City Economic Development Department said that because longan and lychee are important nectar sources for bees, in order to avoid bees dying from pesticide harm while foraging, farmers are asked to stop applying pesticides after lychee and longan enter the flowering period, and instead use biological or physical control methods such as releasing Anastatus japonicus wasps, removing egg masses or removing adult bugs, so as to avoid accidentally harming bee colonies. Farmers are reminded that although the lychee stink bug will not attack on its own, when disturbed it secretes an irritating odorant liquid from its stink glands for self-defense. If it touches the skin or eyes, immediately rinse with clean water. Therefore, when controlling it, farmers must absolutely not grab the bugs with bare hands, and must be careful about accidental contact when the bug falls from the tree, so as to avoid harm to the human body.