Mymensingh

Dangerous African snails found at BAU

Giant African Snails (GAS), one of the world’s largest and most damaging land snail pests, has been spotted at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) campus in Mymensingh. The snails are so harmful for crops that these can consume at least 500 different types of plants, including papaya, peanut and most varieties of beans, peas, cucumber and melon. The snails were first seen by the gardeners of residential halls of BAU. They have noticed that the snails are eating up flower plants, particularly at night.
Prof. of Aquaculture department Dr M A Salam said: “The giant African snails are a nightmare. These can grow up to 20 cm in length and up to 12 cm in diameter and can lay 1,200 eggs every year, survive all sorts of extreme temperatures, have no natural predators and eat crops. Also, they carry germs of meningitis that can infect and kill humans.”
These are commonly found in countries with a tropical warm, humid climate. The species occur in agricultural and coastal areas, wetlands, natural and dense forests, riparian zones, scrub, shrub lands and urban areas, the professor added.
Professor of Parasitology department Dr Md. Abdul Alim said: “It is a threat to native snails and affects ecosystems. This voracious snail feeds on a variety of vegetables and is considered to be a major agricultural pest. It also attacks plantations of teak, rubber, coffee and tea. It causes severe damage to horticultural and medicinal plants.”
The parasites carried by the snail are usually passed to humans through the consumption of raw or improperly cooked food. It also enhances the spread of plant diseases like black pod disease caused by Phytophthora palmivora, which it spreads through its faces.

 

Mymensingh

Dangerous African snails found at BAU

Giant African Snails (GAS), one of the worlds largest and most damaging land snail pests, has been spotted at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) campus in Mymensingh. The snails are so harmful for crops that these can consume at least 500 different types of plants, including papaya, peanut and most varieties of beans, peas, cucumber and melon. The snails were first seen by the gardeners of residential halls of BAU. They have noticed that the snails are eating up flower plants, particularly at night. Prof. of Aquaculture department Dr M A Salam said: The giant African snails are a nightmare. These can grow up to 20 cm in length and up to 12 cm in diameter and can lay 1,200 eggs every year, survive all sorts of extreme temperatures, have no natural predators and eat crops. Also, they carry germs of meningitis that can infect and kill humans. These are commonly found in countries with a tropical warm, humid climate. The species occur in agricultural and coastal areas, wetlands, natural and dense forests, riparian zones, scrub, shrub lands and urban areas, the professor added. Professor of Parasitology department Dr Md. Abdul Alim said: It is a threat to native snails and affects ecosystems. This voracious snail feeds on a variety of vegetables and is considered to be a major agricultural pest. It also attacks plantations of teak, rubber, coffee and tea. It causes severe damage to horticultural and medicinal plants. The parasites carried by the snail are usually passed to humans through the consumption of raw or improperly cooked food. It also enhances the spread of plant diseases like black pod disease caused by Phytophthora palmivora, which it spreads through its faces.