| More
Information |
|
|
|
|
| Title |
Polythene prevents pests |
|
|
| Details |
The farmers of the Circar Districts of Krishna, Guntur, East and West Godavari have realized that pests cannot be eradicated only by applying pesticides. Besides, the indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides will destroy not only harmful insects but also those useful to crops.
Pests like ‘senagapachcha’, ‘pogaku ladde’ and other sucking pests cause severe damage to many crops. It is in the larvae stage of their life-cycle that they move around and feed on leaves, flowers and tender shoots. In urad, groundnut, chana and other short duration pulse crops, once the crop reaches matured stage, the larvae cannot feed on them. They crawl to other fields in search of food. If the crops in the adjacent fields are similarly mature, they cannot do much damage. But in case the crop is different, which is most likely, the problem becomes more acute. Particularly when they are long duration crops like cotton or chillies, which may be in their early stages. Pesticides cannot be of much help in these circumstances.
The farmers of Circar districts observed that the larvae cannot climb on a polythene sheet. The surface being smooth, the larvae are unable to get a grip on it. And also the pests cannot make their way through the soil. So, the farmers built a small barrier along the boundaries of the field using polythene sheets to prevent pests crossing the boundaries. They drive small sticks (nine to twelve inches long) at a distance of four to five feet on the ground along the boundaries. A roll of polythene sheet is spread over the sticks in such a way that it hangs from the sticks vertically and partly spreads over the ground. To prevent the pests making their way from below the sheet, the farmers cover the end of the sheet on the ground with dry soil. Some farmers add some pesticide also along the barrier. The polythene sheet roll costs Rs 100 per kg. Not more than Rs 300 needs to be spent to protect a field of an acre |
|
|
| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 8(4):11, 1997 |
|
|
| Sout |
C Sambasiva Rao, Narsaraopet, Tenetiga, vol 2(3&4):8, |
|
|
| Call Number |
8412 |
