BMC T-Ward Wins Battle Against Deadly Mealybugs!!
Readers, you may have seen many giant trees in your neighborhood with dry and leafless branches and their barks being painted in multiple colors to give them an attractive look! Such trees are common sight in Mulund East and West. But, ever wondered why these trees have lost their greenery and become dead?
Well, these trees have been infected by the deadly Mealybug insects which the BMC early failed to detect and paid a huge price. However, after 2015, when environmentalists created a furore and the Bombay High Court slammed BMC, BMC learnt a lesson and started spraying biopesticides to kill the Mealybug insects and has saved trees from decaying. In fact, in Mulund, BMC T-Ward has reported not a single tree being killed by Mealybug insects!!! This year, too, BMC T-Ward has started spraying biopesticides to prevent trees from being infected by Mealybugs.
According to BMC Garden Department, many rain trees have been infected by Mealybugs in Mulund in the past one year!
Informing about the hazards of Mealybugs, a tree expert said, “Mealybugs are so dangerous that they turn a lush green tree dry and leafless within a few days after they attack a tree. The pests eat the entire tree from inside and make it hollow. This is not all. The Mealybug pests are so energetic that they even attack the nearby green plants. If action is not taken in time, then the pests turn an entire green tree into a dry and dead log!”
To save the trees, BMC Garden Department employees are spraying biopesticides. Using cranes, biopesticides are being sprayed at the right spots of the trees that are infected by Mealybugs.
What is Mealybug?
Mealybugs are white tiny insects that can be seen roaming in abundance on the trunk and all over the bark. They stick to the plants and suck their juices. These tiny insects are innumerable and a close look at a branch with Mealybugs give an impression of fungus. These Mealybugs are so lethal that, within a few days, they turn the entire green tree into a dead log! Even the fruits on the trees decay.
Dry trees made Selfie Point in Mulund
Due to Mealybugs destroying several trees in Mulund, BMC T-Ward had painted these dead trees and made into an attractive Selfie Point Zone. These trees were painted to add beauty to the ‘Swachh Mumbai, Sunder Mumbai.’ However, an environmentalist lamented, “It is tragic BMC did not take proper care of the green trees earlier. Had the Garden Department taken care of these trees then, perhaps, today these trees would not have died. Now, I hope BMC will take care and save the rain trees from the Mealybug menace.”
From 2010 to 2015, many rain trees in Mumbai were infected by Mealybugs. The death of these trees created chaos among environmentalists and tree lovers. Even the High Court slammed BMC and ordered it to take urgent steps to save the trees. BMC took the High Court order seriously and, after 2015, there has been a decline in the trees affected by Mealybug insects.
Each year after the monsoon, BMC starts spraying biopesticide to kill these Mealybugs and stop the death of these rain trees! Environmentalist Zoru Bathena told Home Times, “During the past three years, there has been a decline in the death of rain tress due to Mealybugs. I appreciate BMC for taking appropriate steps to kill these Mealybugs by spraying biopesticides.”
Trees infected by Mealybugs in Mulund T-Ward.
In 2015, Mulund T-Ward witnessed 109 trees infected from Mealybugs. Out of these 109 trees, 49 trees had turned dead into lifeless logs of wood. However, after 2015, not a single tree has been found dead due to Mealybug.
In a nutshell, BMC has won the battle against the deadly Mealybugs!
