Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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Flights by Department of Plant Protection aircraft have killed eighty percent of locusts that had damaged crops in desert areas of Khairpur, this was disclosed by Commissioner Sukkur Rafique Ahmed Buriro. The aircraft are performing flights from Sukkur Airport for aerial spray to kill pests/insects.

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Commissioner Sukkur Rafique Ahmed Buriro and pilots Captain Muhammad Zaman Cheema and Captain Syed Shakir with Department of Plant Protection de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver at Sukkur Airport. More than fifty years old Beaver aircraft are in service with Department of Plant Protection that comes under Ministry of National Food Security & Research of the Government of Pakistan.

Captain Muhammad Zaman Cheema and Captain Syed Shakir Ali are operating low-level flights in hot and harsh weather conditions under scorching sun rays and hot desert winds in aircraft without air conditioning in the cockpit.

More flights planned in coming days will kill all locusts in the area.

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Last edited by Abbas Ali on Sat Aug 10, 2019 1:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Locusts in Khairpur

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Aerial spray flight by Department of Plant Protection de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver against locusts in Khairpur.

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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Locusts in Khairpur

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A veteran Beaver performing aerial spray flight against locusts in Sindh province.

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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Locusts in Khairpur

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Deputy Commissioner Khairpur Naeem Sandhu and pilots Zaman Cheema and Syed Shakir Ali at Sukkur Airport with Department of Plant Protection de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver.

Locusts have been eliminated from five thousand acres of land in the desert region of Khairpur through aerial spray flights performed by Department of Plant Protection de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver.

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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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Department of Plant Protection de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver has arrived at Shaikh Zayed International Airport in Rahim Yar Khan to perform spray flights against locust invasion in Cholistan Desert.

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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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Plant protection DHC 2 should be used for aerial seed broadcast in Cholistan desert. Like
Pakistan Army Mushshak aircraft was be used for aerial seeding of Mallah Berry, Phel, Dharman and Lathia plants.few years back
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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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inducedrag wrote: Sat Aug 10, 2019 3:32 pm Plant protection DHC 2 should be used for aerial seed broadcast in Cholistan desert. Like
Pakistan Army Mushshak aircraft was be used for aerial seeding of Mallah Berry, Phel, Dharman and Lathia plants.few years back
I'd like to humbly disagree as these aircraft are playing a much critical role in suppressing the desert locust.

South Punjab farmers like us with hundreds of acres of cotton crop at risk are relying on these aircraft and their pilots to protect our investments and the livelihood of thousands in the region.

The aerial seed broadcast can be done by non-specialized aircraft like the Mushak. Hence it's better to preserve these beavers for critical missions like fighting the locust.
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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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SM wrote: Mon Aug 12, 2019 12:51 am
inducedrag wrote: Sat Aug 10, 2019 3:32 pm Plant protection DHC 2 should be used for aerial seed broadcast in Cholistan desert. Like
Pakistan Army Mushshak aircraft was be used for aerial seeding of Mallah Berry, Phel, Dharman and Lathia plants.few years back
I'd like to humbly disagree as these aircraft are playing a much critical role in suppressing the desert locust.

South Punjab farmers like us with hundreds of acres of cotton crop at risk are relying on these aircraft and their pilots to protect our investments and the livelihood of thousands in the region.

The aerial seed broadcast can be done by non-specialized aircraft like the Mushak. Hence it's better to preserve these beavers for critical missions like fighting the locust.
DPP’s aerial wing had a fleet of 20 vintage aircraft which included five Beaver, eight Cessna and seven Fletcher planes parked at two bases in Karachi and Lahore.
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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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I'd like to humbly disagree as these aircraft are playing a much critical role in suppressing the desert locust.

South Punjab farmers like us with hundreds of acres of cotton crop at risk are relying on these aircraft and their pilots to protect our investments and the livelihood of thousands in the region.

The aerial seed broadcast can be done by non-specialized aircraft like the Mushak. Hence it's better to preserve these beavers for critical missions like fighting the locust.
As per my knowledge, the tanks in these aircraft are capable of carrying liquid only. For solids like seeds etc, one would need a Mushak or a Cessna 172 with a cargo door that could be opened in flight.
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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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Recently, Pakistan Army & Houbara Foundation International Pakistan carried out 22nd annual aerial seed broadcast in Cholistan Desert with Pakistan Army Mushshak aircraft from Sheikh Zayed International Air Port (SZIAP) - Rahim Yar Khan.

Pakistan Army Mushshak aircraft was used for aerial seeding of Dharman, Karir, Lathia, Phel, Khavi, Mallah Berry and Sarson plants. Houbara bustard feeds on these plants and their seeds.

120 kilograms of seeds were distributed through aircraft this year. A total of 2,427 kilograms of seeds have been distributed by aircraft in 22 years in Cholistan Desert.

Older photos here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=23497

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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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Department of Plant Protection de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver has began performing aerial spray flights against locusts in Cholistan Desert, according to news sources.

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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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Locust invasion
EditorialSeptember 07, 2019 Facebook Count
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AN ancient scourge is back with a vengeance in Pakistan for the first time in two decades. Swarms of locusts have been advancing inside the country since early June, and after cutting a swathe of destruction through Balochistan, are now ravaging vast areas of Sindh. Thousands of acres of cotton crop could be devastated, that too at a time when Pakistan is already reeling from an economic crisis. South Punjab is on high alert given the alarming invasion of these insects in other parts of the country. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation in its latest Locust Watch Report has warned that the situation in Pakistan is “most serious”. According to it, the second generation of these voracious insects has emerged and as they proliferate, so will their capacity to lay waste to cropland and exacerbate food insecurity.

Heavy rainfall coupled with high temperatures creates the perfect conditions for locusts to breed, and climate change could reshape their distribution area. Research organisations and government authorities in Pakistan must turn their attention to this possibility, of which we may well be experiencing the opening act. Provincial agriculture departments claim they are taking measures to combat the infestation, but they have been very slow off the mark. While close to 40,800 acres have reportedly been treated so far and training sessions held in Punjab to build the capacity of government officials and technical staff, many farmers in Sindh — Balochistan has already seen the worst — are complaining that vast areas have not been sprayed with insecticide. Interestingly enough, the present invasion may have its roots in the Yemen war, which has affected locust control measures there, enabling huge numbers of the insects to migrate further, through Saudi Arabia, Iran and onward to Pakistan. The authorities here thus had a substantial window in which to prepare for their arrival and ensure that spraying was done at the nymph stage — before the insects can fly — to forestall proliferation. Of course, the most severe impact of the swarms will be borne by the farmers. Aside from those in the fertile agriculture belt, rural populations in already impoverished areas will see their difficulties intensify further. Severe locust infestations, by giving rise to local food shortages and the disadvantages that come with malnutrition, have been shown to even impact school enrollment rates. This is an emergency — which may become a recurrent one — and must be treated as such.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2019
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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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Department of Plant Protection de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver performing aerial spray flight against locusts in Cholistan Desert.

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Re: Department of Plant Protection Aircraft Perform Flights to Save Crops from Desert Locusts

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Department of Plant Protection de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (aircraft registration AP-ALR) being prepared to perform aerial spray flight against locusts in Sindh Province.

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Selfie time for locals with the aircraft.

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The fifty-nine year old AP-ALR was built in 1960.

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