When Green Way visited to Dedaye (Ayeyarwaddy Division), the farmers told us their problems. They said the snail problem is the biggest problem ever and they can’t solve it yet. They call them Taiwan Snails (because they are bigger than local snails and we, Myanmar people, usually call something "Taiwan" whatever (fruit, vegetable, etc) when it is bigger than the local one). It has been around since two years ago. That snail goes up the creek, stream and river day by day.
The myth said that one migrant labor took 4-5 snails from Thailand as he loved those and he raised them in the creek near his home. They multiplied quickly and move to other locations and became an outbreak.
We invite everyone to participate in this discussion and please kindly share your ideas for the control of these pests. Now the farmers lost their paddy and their family will be in the trouble if they can’t solve this problem.
Visual Biography of Snail
Here we upload the some pictures of snail and their eggs. The size is 5-10 times bigger than the local snail. The farmers said they mate all year round and multiply very quickly. For the local variety, they multiply only in their season and they can avoid them by changing the sowing time. They lay eggs in clusters 6 inches above the water level and there will be around 1000 eggs. The edge of the snail is very sharp and some farmers are afraid to go into the field. When the tide is low and sunny, they go down to the bottom of the water and hide.
Difficulties of farmers
Using pesticide and chemical
They look for ways to stop them but they can’t so far. Using pesticide and chemical is not possible as they come into the field when the water is at high tide. Their fields do not have good drainage.
Biological control
Letting ducks eat them is not effective. Ducks usually eat the local snail and group of ducks is a good control for the local one. But here ducks do not eat them.
Physical Control
At first, the farmers collect these snails and send them to the chicken farm. They pound them and mix them with chicken feed. At first the chickens will try them, but then refuse to eat them. The farmers can’t take them all.
You can leave your valuable discussion in the following comment box or send it to [email protected].
ဗွေဆော်ဦး ကြော်ငြာ
Aqua ဘူစတာ
Aqua ကယ်လဆီယမ်