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Shoulder Shields: Katari Ash and Mahua Flowers |
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| Abstract |
The Honey Bee Network (HBN) has been compiling the outstanding traditional knowledge of communities for over 35 years. This vast body of practices for human, animal, and crop health has been consolidated in databases that are open and thus accessible to all. Many farmers continue to rely on simpler methods using available bioresources, not because advanced methods are unavailable, but because sustainability and frugality still seem to matter to many. HBN has recently been reconnecting with farmers who first shared their knowledge almost two decades ago. Many still swear by tried and tested practices such as using biopesticides made from bitter plants and milkweeds, and using other locally-made growth promoters. These have been passed down over many generations, with some tweaks here and there based on local conditions. State machinery has signalled its support for zero budget natural farming, and building easily accessible platforms to share such community knowledge has become invaluable. We hope the practices, compiled here by Ms. Alka Rawat of SRISTI, prove beneficial to many others. |
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"35101 Fuller Flowering in Mango Orchards
Ketanbhai Govindbhai Patel
Atgam, Pata Talav, Tk. Jalalpore, Dist. Valsad
Ketanbhai covers the floor of his mango orchard with dried leaves to reduce weeds. When flowering begins, he wafts smoke in the orchard by burning dried cow dung cakes with leaves of neem, mango, and eucalyptus. Doing so twice a day seems to result in excellent flowering.
(Interestingly, weed pollen may attract beneficial insects, and at an optimal level, weeds improve soil carbon and pH in mango orchards (Kleiman & Koptur, 2023); Eds.)
35102 Gastric Relief with Tripankhi Leaves
Bharatsingh Bhikhbhai Chauhan
Limdi Medri, Tk. Limkheda, Dist. Dahod
Bharatbhai cultivates maize, rice, cotton, vegetables, and other crops. Monsoon runoff carries “forest compost”, comprising decomposed tree bark and other plant parts, and deposits it at a dam downstream. For the past few decades, he has used it to fertilize his fields with no supplements.
For goats suffering from diarrhoea, he collects seeds from the thorny fruits of kakas (Caesalpinia crista L.), a shrub with yellow flowers which grows around the boundary of his field. He mixes the ground kernel of one seed in a bit of water and administers this twice a day through the goat’s nasal passage.
A diabetes remedy involves mixing two ground-up leaves of tripankhi (Coldenia procumbens L.) in water. To alleviate bloat, he soaks the soil from a termite burrow in water. He feeds this drink to his animals twice a day, two hours apart.
If an animal is not able to go into heat by the expected age, he feeds it 500 g of mahua flowers (Madhuca longifolia latifolia (Roxb.) A.Chev.) daily for 10-12 days. For the past few generations, his family has used this method, collecting mahua from the forest. Animals are more likely to consume the flowers when mixed with chickpeas. To heal blisters on the shoulders of draught animals, he applies ash of katari (Solanum surattense Burm.f.) branches for two to three days to speed up healing. Alternatively, the husk of mahua seeds can also be applied three to four times a day.
To treat diarrhoea in humans, Bharatbhai takes a few pieces of the curved pods of the vachedi / mardashing (Helicteres isora L.) tree. Drinking these ground pods mixed in water is very beneficial for stomach ailments. These practices should be used only under expert medical care.
(Kakas is a woody climber whose pulpy fruits contain tannins and flavonoids. Besides acting as an astringent to the bowels, they have been found to have curative properties for piles, wounds, and indolent ulcers. The ash of its flower helps reduce fluid buildup. (Upadhyay et al., 2019). Tripankhi, known for its anti-inflammatory activity, has been used by the Yanadi tribes of Andhra Pradesh to treat snake bites, and is an effective antibacterial (Shakila R et al., 2017); Eds.)
35103 A Bitter End for Pests
Farmers use the leaves of several bitter plants such as naffatiya (Ipomoea carnea fistulosa (Mart. ex Choisy) D.F.Austin), aakda (Calotropis gigantea (L.) Dryand), neem, datura (Datura stramonium L.), and custard apple.
Ketanbhai keeps fungal diseases in check by soaking two leaves each of naffatiya, aakda, neem, datura, and custard apple in 20 L of cow urine for 21 days. It is strained, and sprayed 500 mL per pump.
(Custard apple leaves prevent fruit rot (HB 28(4)&29(1):15, 2018), and control myriad pests (HB 14(1):5, 2003; HB 24(2):18, 2013; HB 32(1-2):21, 2021; HB 34(2):12, 2023); Eds.)
Bharatsingh prevents caterpillars in pigeon peas by chopping one kilogram each of the leaves of custard apple, neem, aakda, and datura. He boils them in enough cow urine to submerge the leaves, and adds this solution to a one liter pump for spraying. He sprays again four days later, and then another seven days after the second time.
Popatbhai Maganbhai Patel (Agiyol, Tk. Himatnagar, Dist. Sabarkantha) has been farming organically on a small plot of land for four years. He has used satparni ark (extract of seven bitter leaves) to stop the proliferation of weeds. For pest control, he crushes two kilograms of shredded red oleander (Nerium oleander L.) leaves, mixes them with 20 L of water, and strains the solution. He sprays 500 mL in a pump every ten days to control caterpillars, especially effective in eggplant crops.
(Red oleander methanol leaf extract may control bollworm by depriving the larvae of nutrients (Sivakumar et al., 2022). For a variety of uses of different toxic parts of red oleander, see HB 10(1):9 1999; HB 11(3):9, 2000; HB 14(3):8, 2003; HB 20(2):19 2009; HB 27(2):11, 2016; Eds.)
Kanjibhai Raghavbhai Vanpariya (Akala, Wadi Vistar, Tk. Jetpur, Dist. Rajkot) cultivates groundnuts, chickpeas, moong, and turmeric. He cuts five kilograms each of onion, garlic, and the leaves of neem, tobacco, and custard apple into small pieces. To this, he adds five litres of cow urine and some water. After fermenting the mixture, he sprays it on groundnut crop to prevent diseases.
He plants mangoes, first digging a two-feet pit and filling it with 500 g aakda, 50 g castor leaves (Ricinus communis L.), and 50 g lime. This controls termites, rot, and fungal diseases. Cutting is done every three years. He has nurtured a 65-year-old mango tree, yielding 500 kg of fruit annually, by applying cow milk bacteria four to five times per season.
(We have earlier documented the uses of castor oil (HB7(3):18, 1996; HB10(1):8, 1999; HB19(1):13, 2008; HB20(2):17, 2009; HB20(4)&21(1): 24, 2009-10; HB29(4)&30(1):29, 2018-19; HB31(1-2):32, 2020), fruits (HB2(1):18, 1991), and leaves (HB 8(4):21, 1997; HB 20(3): 22, 2009; HB 22 (1 & 2) :32, 2011). The leaves are also used as an eye lubricant, a galactagogue (A.W. Mohammed et al., 2018), and to preserve meat (Awoyinka, Olaoluwa & Ojo Olaiya, 2024)
During Gujarat to Rajasthan Shodhaytra, a teacher had used dried leaves of Butea monosperma in mango pits for similar purpose of controlling termites.; Eds.)
35104 Organic Cow-nter Measures
Popatbhai sprays milk and jaggery to improve wheat and cotton crops, and uses ghanjeevamrit (dry jeevamrit - organic fertilizer). Dense cow urine has been an effective enhancer, growth promoter, and detoxifier for soil. He dilutes 500 g urine in 100 L of water and sprays it over an acre of his land. On the third spray, he halves the proportion. This has prevented pests and disease in onion, groundnut, and eggplant, as well as soil-borne wilt. It has helped him yield onions weighing 300-400 g.
Ketanbhai adds jeevamrit during irrigation, and sprinkles milk and jaggery to increase the population of earthworms.
Kanjibhai applies a mixture of dried cow dung ash, cow milk, cow urine, and cow dung bacteria to his seeds. To ensure crop health, he sprays a solution of fresh cow dung mixed in a tank of water. Another method he follows is spraying five litres of buttermilk diluted in 50 L of water.
Kirtiben (Pitha, Tk. Valsad, Dist. Valsad) blends 250 g of jaggery in two litres of buttermilk for chilli and bottle-gourd crops. She sprays after diluting it with 15 L of water. This method helps control fungus and bollworms.
(For alternate methods of bollworm control, see HB6(4):18, 1995; HB10(3):16, 1999; HB12(3):14, 2001; HB20(4)&21(1):24, 2009-10; Eds.)
Dharmendrabhai Patel (Lakshmipura, Dist. Sabarkantha) is an organic farmer of groundnut, urad, wheat, and fennel. He uses jeevamrit that has been fermented for a year by bacteria from cow dung. For pest control, he sprays a mix of 500 g cow urine and 250 g buttermilk the first time. He inverts the ratio thereafter, spraying a solution of 250 g cow urine and 500 g buttermilk every ten days. This balances the nutrient content of soil.
(B. subtilis strains, highly prevalent in cow dung, have shown antifungal activity, and also inhibit post-harvest rot pathogens in yam. Also present in dung, Bacillus megaterium converts insoluble zinc from the soil into a form that plants can absorb (Banerjee, Kanauji & Sharma, 2023).
For other pest control methods using buttermilk and cow urine, see HB 8(3):12, 1997; HB 27 (3):11, 2016; HB 25(4)&26(1):15, 2014-15; HB 32(1-2):20, 2021; HB 34(1):13, 2023; Eds.)" |
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 35(1)7-8, 2024 |
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