The plague of armyworms that were eating crops in a dozen provinces last week is now under control, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has reported, with the soybean crops recording the most damage.

Speaking on PNN television this week, Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon said a total of 21,400 hectares of crops nationwide had been hit by the armyworm invasion.

Of the 21,400 hectares of land affected, about 2,000 hectares of rice paddy seedlings, more than 4,000 hectares of soybeans and more than 9,000 hectares of cassava were affected, Mr. Sakhon said.

“The crop affected most was soybeans,” Mr. Sakhon said. “And the land affected growing rice paddy seedlings was about 2,000 hectares.”

The province hardest hit by armyworms was Preah Vihear, Mr. Sakhon added, where soybean crops on 4,351 hectares were affected. Cassava and other crops affected covered up to 9,500 hectares, he said.

“The cassava plants were slightly affected and they can be restored, but the crop affected the most was soybeans,” Mr. Sakhon said.

“We now have the situation under control,” the agriculture minister added...
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/26482/ ... a-retreat/


In case you are wondering what an armyworm is:


Mythimna separata

The Northern armyworm, Oriental armyworm or Rice ear-cutting caterpillar (Mythimna separata) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found in China, Japan, South-east Asia, India, Eastern Australia, New Zealand, and some Pacific Islands. They term “Armyworm” is used because of their habit to spread out in a line across a lawn or pasture, and slowly “marching” forward, meanwhile consuming the foliage they encounter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythimna_separata