Research Projects

Geospatial information systems are technology-based decision-making processes that assess location data and incorporate natural and anthropogenic processes. However, spatial mapping of biological phenomena is becoming increasingly popular to reduce ecological losses and aid emergency responses. The Desert Locust Plague of 2019-20 in West Africa and Southwest Asia, including India, has rekindled the locust plague's reputation. Locusts, one of the most destructive agricultural pests, are known for their gregarious habits, band marching, and mass swarming. The Desert Locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskl), is the most dominant and destructive species worldwide. In India, several locust plagues have occurred in the last two centuries, with swarms devouring and damaging croplands in the north-western part of the country. These locusts migrated from the Horn of Africa and ravaged through Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan before reaching the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. Crop damage of around 3.75 lakh hectares (over Rs 100 crores) was recorded in the 2019-20 cropping season. This massive blow to Indian food security has highlighted the need for strengthening research on locust warning and prediction systems. The right time is to formulate the relationship between environmental conditions and locust migration using public domain information. This effort will demonstrate the low-cost efforts of the biological prediction system of future locust plague probabilities through geospatial technologies.