East China's Shandong Province has employed aircraft to kill locusts which have run rampant in some areas of the province since 1998.
According to the province's plant protection department, this year, prevention and elimination of locusts by planes will be carried out in an area of 80,000 hectares, or more than one-quarter of the total area being plagued by locusts in the province.
A survey shows that in the disaster area, there is an average of one to five locusts per square meter, in some areas, the number is 50 to 100 per square meter, and the highest number was recorded at more than 2,000 locusts per square meter.
Large-scale prevention and elimination of locusts began in the province on June 6, and the campaign is in full swing.
Shandong has built two airports in Dongming and Kenli counties for locust prevention and elimination.
(Xinhua 06/16/2001)
