WAITING TO STRIKE

Sal heartwood borer is considered the biggest threat to forestry in India, especially to the sal tree, where it lives and breeds.

- BHAGIRATH

The country last witnessed a sal borer epidemic in 1996-2001 in undivided Madhya Pradesh, when, some 3.5 million sal trees—extremely valuable economically and ecologically—had to be felled to control the pest's spread. Sal borer numbers have again been on the rise for the past couple of years due to above average monsoons and post-seasonal rains. Initial surveys by forest department indicate widespread damage to sal trees, reports BHAGIRATH from Anuppur and Dindori districts of Madhya Pradesh and Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh.

A FEW minutes walk into the forest near Sontirath village is enough to make one notice the quiet provided by the dense sal (Shorea robusta) tree growth. There is a sudden sense of self awareness as one starts to notice the faintest of forest sounds. “It will not be this peaceful for long. Come monsoon and the forest will be full of sal borers flying around,” says Sukaal. “The pest is in the larva stage right now. The adult insect will emerge from the tree in June-July, with the onset of rains,” he adds.

Sukaal is among the 35-odd labourers deployed by the forest department in Madhya Pradesh’s Dindori district to identify sal trees that have become infested by the sal heartwood borer (Hoplocerambyx spinicornis) insect in the forest near Sontirath village. His job entails scalping the bark of the infected trees to leave a square mark on the trunk. “I do not like this work. But we need to identify the infected trees so that they can be felled to control the spread of sal borer,” Sukaal says.