- A diluted mixture of a chemical is ridding the tree of its infestation, officials said
- They say the chemical, Chloropyrifos, is killing the termites and saving the tree
- The 700-year-old ficus tree is a huge tourist attraction in southern India
- It has a multiplicity of branches – many as thick as the tree’s trunk
The world’s second largest Banyan tree in southern India has been attached to a saline drip in the hope of stopping it from being devoured by hungry termites.
The 700-year-old ficus tree is a huge tourist attraction in Telangana, India, and according to the Times of India its roots span a three acre area.
The tree is known to locals as ‘Pillalamarri’ or ‘Peerla Marri’ because it has sprouted so many branches.
Tree experts say the patient is responding well to the drip and is expected to make a full recovery
The tree is being treated with a diluted form of the chemical Chloropyrifos to rid it of its pest infestation
The tree is to be found in southern India, not far from the city of Hyderabad
The tree is renowned not just for its great age, but also for the multiplicity of its branches
In recent years it has become a popular tourist attraction because of its many branches – many as thick as trunks themselves — which make it nearly impossible to see its original trunk.
In December 2017 the tree and its adjoining area was closed to the public because years of rampant termite infestation was believed to have caused one of its branches to come crashing down.
Since then, forest officials have tried various methods to rehabilitate it, CBS reported, including using concrete supports underneath its collapsing branches and by administering a diluted mixture of the chemical Chloropyrifos to rid it of its pest infestation.
Initially, on the advice of a retired forest official, the chemical solution was pushed into the tree through holes in its stem. However, that attempt failed and officials were forced to become more creative.
Several Chloropyrifos bottles now hang from the tree’s branches like saline drips, delivering the life-saving solution more directly.
‘This process has been effective,’ Mahabubnagar District Forest Officer Chukka Ganga Reddy told the Times of India.
‘The tree’s health is stable now. We are hoping it will become normal after a few days.
‘We are also planning to open the site to the public after discussion with the higher officials, but [at] this time people have to see it from a distance away from the barricades.’
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