"We will try more environmentally sound alternatives, like fungi-based insecticides and natural enemies of locust, to kill the destructive insect," said Huang Hui of the National Agro-Technical Extension Center.

A persistent victim of migratory locusts, every year since 1997 2.2 million hectares of land have been vulnerable to the insect plague, an increase of 666,000 hectares from a decade ago, according to Huang.

Over the past years, China has largely sprayed chemical insecticides to eradicate locusts, said Xia Jingyuan, director of the center under the ministry.

They are effective in killing the insects instantly, but have detrimentally affected the environment and also killed beneficial insects, experts said.

With support from ministries of agriculture, finance, and science and technology, Xia's center has tried to wage biological and ecological warfare against locust invasion in 113,300 hectares of land this year.

But for this summer's locust control, 85 per cent of the task was still conducted by chemical pesticide spraying, Xia said. He anticipated the percentage to decrease in the years ahead.

The Ministry of Agriculture is working on a national biological locust control program, under which more manpower and money are expected to be mobilized in the prevention and control of the insect plague, Huang Hui said.

Zhang Long, an expert at China Agricultural University, said China has introduced biological fungus preparations for trial use in the field, and several plant-based insecticides have already been developed to control locusts.

As to ecological means in preventing the locust plague, Huanghua in North China's Hebei Province has planted huge quantities of bean plants - which are not favored by locusts.

As a result, the density of the insect has decreased substantially, according to Huang. Meanwhile, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Northwest China continues to breed ducks to eat locusts this year.

(China Daily July 8, 2003)