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Plague of Locusts to Aggravate in China: Experts
Based on their analysis of the ecological evolution in the locusts-hit regions in connection with the weather factors, plague of locusts will become more serious in the coming several years in China.
It's said that since the mid-80s, the migratory locusts from East Asia have frequently attacked China. In the valley of the Yellow River and the north China, the interval of the outbreak of locust plague has been shortened from five years to three years. Especially at the late 90s, due to the frequent dry-up of the Yellow River and the salinization of soil, the plague of locusts has occurred almost once every year and the area affected by locust pest has increased from 15 million mu (1 hectare = 15 mu) in the 1980s to 24 million mu in 1999 and 55 million mu this year. So far, 11 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have been affected by the plague of locusts.
Experts said that China has passed the period of sufficient water and drought is likely to happen in a number of years ahead. "There must be locust plague after a long spell of drought" as the Chinese saying goes. The dry climatic condition determines the aggravation of locust pests. At present, although there are only 20 million mu of areas suitable for the subsistence of locusts, 80 percent of these areas are hard to be transformed or cannot be transformed in a short period of time, moreover, the climate is extraordinary, the problem of soil erosion in the valley of the Yellow River hasn't been solved completely, the Yellow River frequently dries up, all of these constantly create conditions fit for the plague of locusts.
Through study, experts also anticipated the trend of locust plague in different areas in the coming years.
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