For many years, Nirvana’s trees and shrubs have been infested by a scale insect, mealy bugs.
They feed on plant sap and secrete a waxy layer which protects them.
To tackle the mealy bug infestation, the Nirvana Horticulture Committee, NHC, is undertaking a multi-stage action plan to minimise and gradually eradicate this bug from the Nirvana Country campus.
We all know that
1. This bug is very hardy.; 2. The treatments undertaken over the last 6 to 7 years have not been able to eradicate this pest even after the application of strong insecticides.; 3. The bug perhaps returned every year in more numbers, increased in size and developed resistance to many chemicals used over the years.; 4. The infestation which began 6 to 7 years ago with only Alstonia trees in Deerwood Chase has now spread to wider areas, almost all the Blocks and in more intensity.
NHC’s action plan is as follows:
1. A systematic, multi-stage, multi-prong approach with the use of natural/ organic agents.
2. Spread over an entire year to arrest the pest at its different developmental stages.
3. For a better understanding – it is similar to the approach our country and WHO took to eradicate the Polio virus from the world.
The plan was put into action in May and covered August, September and November as well.
In 2025, treatment of vulnerable shrubs and hedges began at the end of January, with our horticulture staff using backpack sprayers.
In February, a round of soft pruning of the trees most at risk was followed by several rounds of spraying, using a sprayer pump fitted on a tanker.
The treatment will continue in March and will be repeated a couple of times, post-monsoon.
