Brown-tail Moth

Written by: Mir Aqa Atabar

Many kinds of insects are living on the land but some insects are harmful to trees. Writer/producer AEPO has talked to some gardeners and an agricultural expert about a kind of hairy worm which affects fruit trees.

Sayed Rahman, a resident of Farza, district of Kabul province says:

Brown-tail Moth (Hairy worms) are more found in apple and plum trees. They eat the leaves of the tree and the tree dries. The Brown-tail Moths were found in plum trees and faced me to about 40 thousand Afghanis damage.

Mira Jan Himat, an agricultural expert at the Ministry of Agriculture of Afghanistan, says: the Brown-tail Moth is a dangerous insect of trees, especially for fruit trees. This pest is prevalent in 18 provinces of Afghanistan. About 25-500 larva of this insect are living in one net on the branch of trees during winter. When the trees blossom in the spring, they attack them and eat all leaves. The leaves are called the factory of tree’s food. When the worms eat the leaves, the tree dry and give no fruit.

How to get rid of Brown-tail Moth?

Mira Jan Himat says: "those leaves, which have Brown-tail Moth's net, do not fall during the winter. Gardeners should cut these leaves and branches and bury them in the ground. They could also take the affected branches to one of the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture. They would give them some advice about the elimination of the pest."