Mumbai: Rats destroy over 17 lakh tonnes of staple and other crops in Punjab every year, posing a serious threat.

"Rodents, which are a serious problem for the farming sector, damage 4 per cent, 3.7 per cent and 11 per cent of wheat, rice and sugarcane output respectively in a year in Punjab," said H S Sehgal, head, department of zoology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).

Rats destroy almost 5.87 lakh tones of wheat, 3.86 lakh tones of rice and 7.21 lakh tones of sugarcane while contaminating the crop with their feces, urine and fur, he said.

PAU has devised three measures of controlling rats under an All India Network Project (AINP), which include environmental sanitation, rat proofing and destroying them.