New York: A natural pest-control plan from US-based Virginia Tech that halted the papaya mealybug - that created havoc in southern India causing mold and stunted growth of several crops - has saved up to $309 million in the first year itself.

For a relatively modest cost of $200,000 during the first year of the intervention, financial loss that would have crossed $1.34 billion over five years has been prevented, said researchers from Virginia Tech.