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Buttermilk keeps pests and weeds away |
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SRISTI has been pooling grassroots innovation and traditional knowledge since 1993 as a part of the Honey Bee Network. It has recently begun reconnecting with farmers who first shared their knowledge with HBN decades ago. The purpose is to learn from their new experiments, whether failed or successful. Those interested in natural farming and sustainable natural resource management may find these experiments worth emulating Your comments and feedback are most welcome and will be shared with the knowledge providers. Ms. Alka Rawal, part of the HBN SRISTI team, is in touch with these innovators and knowledge providers, and has compiled some of their practices from the field. Mahesh Parmar has also assisted in a few cases |
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"34101 Herbal medicine to control thrips
Narvansinh Khatabhai Gohil Shevdivadar, Tk. Jesar, Dist. Bhavnagar
Narvanbhai has formulated a herbal medicine to control thrips infestations in chilli, okra, and onion crops. It contains congress grass (Parthenium hysterophorus L., alternatively known as carrot grass), neem, flour, jaggery, and cow urine. The mix has 1 kg of flour, 1 kg of jaggery, 10 - 12 onions, 2 kg of neem leaves paste, and a piece of tender congress grass, with 20 L of cow urine and 150 L of water.
He soaks the jaggery and flour in water, then adds in it a paste of onions, neem, and congress grass. In a large barrel, he adds this mixture to 20 L of cow urine and 150 L of water and keeps the barrel tightly shut for forty days. It should be kept away from sunlight and rain to achieve the best results.
After forty days, he stirs the mixture and strains it. It can be used for up to six
months. Even spraying just 1 L of the mixture prevents thrips. Arvindbhai Moonshankar Dhandhalya and Jadabhai Nagabhai have also used this herbal pesticide to great success.
Another method for thrips control involves the use of asafoetida, turmeric, and carom seeds (ajwain). Mix these three ingredients in 2 L of water and keep the mixture for fifteen days. Strain and use. If required for immediate use, boil turmeric, asafoetida, and carom seeds in 2 L of water until it reduces to half. Cool it, add 150 mL of the mixture to a 15 l water in a pump, and spray to control thrips.
34102 Treatment to control aphids
Savitaben Badabhai Rathod
Kesardi, Bhumbhanivas, Tk. Bavla, Dist. Ahmedabad
Savitaben is an organic farmer, and conducts business as a member of a women’s group. She teaches women how to make jeevamrit (organic fertilizer) and also distributes beejamrit (organic seed treatment) in the village. She experiments with several farming techniques and practices
For controlling aphid attacks, she uses a mixture of gram flour, jaggery, carom seeds, cow dung, and cow urine. It is made with 12 L of water, 3 L of cow urine, 1 kg of cow dung, 500 g of jaggery, and 500 g of gram flour. She also adds carom seeds and neem leaves. After keeping it for a week, she stirs the solution and strains it. 1 L of the solution mixed with water can be sprayed using a pump to control aphids. To stimulate crop growth, she uses banana, gram flour, coconut water, jaggery, ghee, gram flour, and milk. She mixes 3 L of milk, 500 g of coconut water, 3 kg of yoghurt, 12 bananas, 500 g of ghee, and 500 g of gram flour and keeps it for seven days. For best results, the mixture is thoroughly stirred in 150 L of water, strained, and used with irrigation in the fields.
To treat repeat breeding syndrome in animals, a mixture of 200 g of ‘kanthi’ or wood apple (Limonia acidissima L.) leaves, 100 g of fennel seeds, and
100 g of ‘kadi sakar’or candy sugar, is prepared and fed to the animals for three to four days. Feeding it immediately after breeding helps prevent the issue of repeat breeding. (Also see Honey Bee 9(4):15; 1998)
34103 Spray that makes watermelons sweeter
Ashokbhai R. Rangani
Atakot colony, Jasdan, Dist. Rajkot
Ashokbhai cultivates watermelon. When the plants are about to bear fruits, he cuts off the tip and grinds it with 250 g of milk and 100 g of jaggery in 15 L of water and sprays it. This increases the yield, and also results in sweeter watermelons. Some users have used pinching tips to slow down vegetative growth and use all the energy for ripening melons already growing instead of having fresh flowers.
(see https://www.melindamyers.com/ articles/pinching-watermelon-plants-to- control-growth)
(Also see Honey Bee 8(4): 17; 2019)
34104 Herbal medicine to expel placenta
Hansaben Viththalbhai Patel
Makhhiyav, Tk. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad
Hansaben, though she has left farming, used to feed animals with bran, millet, and wheat porridge to keep them cool during the summer. To help animals expel placenta, she gave them ‘chanothi’ (Abrus precatorius L.) seeds.
She prevents worms in her animals by making them drink buttermilk with a little extra salt.
(Also see HB 7(3), 1996: 9, HB 6(4),
1995: 9, HB 8(1), 1997: 11, HB 10(4),
1999: 16, HB 28(1), 2017: 19 for other
practices on expulsion of placenta. :Ed.)
34105 A leaf paste to relieve joint pain
Gopalbhai Parakramsinh Suratiya Katholi, Tk. Sankheda, Dist. Vadodara
Gopalbhai suggests that to treat honey bee stings, apply the juice of tulsi leaves on the affected area. It will provide relief from pain and swelling. For joint pain treatment, take an equal quantity of leaves from tulsi, peeludi (Salvadora persica L.), arni, sahijan (Moringa oleifera Lam.), kantasheri, and dudheli (Euphorbia hirta L.). Add a little rai (black mustard seeds), lehsun (garlic), kapoor (camphor), and a small amount of latex of cactus thor (Euphorbia royleana Boiss.). Turn this mix into a paste. Keep it for ten days, and then boil it three to four times until it thickens. After it cools down, store it in a bottle.
Massaging the affected area with this paste provides relief. Joint pain reduces within a week.
(Also see HB 9(4), 1998:17
and HB 10(4), 1999: 17 for
more ways to cure joint pains: Ed.)
34106 Pest control for potato and sugarcane crops
Medharajbhai Patel Kabirpura, Tk. Vadgam,
Dist. Banaskantha
Medharajbhai has been practicing organic farming for the past seven years. He uses jeevamrit, beejamrit and dashparni (ten leaves) extract (natural pesticide). He ferments 20 kg of small cow dung balls in 200 L of water for twenty-five days. Then, he adds a little neem oil to the water and applies it to the crops. This prevents pests and fungal diseases in the soil.
He controls sucking pests like aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, and others with a mixture of aloe vera, neem oil, cow urine, and sour buttermilk. He prepares it by combining 10 L of sour buttermilk, 10 L of cow urine, 500 g of neem oil, and 50 g of aloe vera gel. This mixture is added to 180 L of water in a large drum. When sprayed on crops, it helps control aphids and leaf curling.
For potato and sugarcane crops, he applies jeevamrit and neem oil every fifteen days to promote healthy growth. To prevent diseases in crops, he uses dashparni ark, which is a combination of medicinal plants such as akda (Calotropis gigantea (L.) Dryand.), neem, datura (Datura stramonium L.), karanja (Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre), sitafal, nagod (Vitex negundo L.), aaval (Senna auriculata (L.) Roxb.), aloe vera, vakhada (Salvadora persica L.), and arni (Clerodrendrum multifloram (Burm.f.) Kuntze).
He ferments 5 kg of each plant in 250 L of water for forty days. After forty days, the solution is filtered and used. He applies 300 g of this solution per pump. This proves beneficial for the crops.
To treat cattle with skin disease, he applies a mixture of 50 g of aloe vera gel, one tablespoon of turmeric, and 50 g of lime powder on the affected area after milking. Applying this mixture for three days provides relief. In case of flatulence and bloating, he makes them drink a mix of mustard oil and soda.
(Also see Honey Bee 33 (1-2): 23; 2022)
34107 Medicine to cure bloating in animals
Parulben and Nileshbhai Bhatt Punjapura, Tk. Medharaj, Dist. Aravalli
Parulben and Nileshbhai are engaged in farming and animal husbandry. They use compost and neem oil on their farm. They use a number of treatments for their animals.
When an animal has bloat, they apply salt on the back of the animal and rub it from top to bottom, or they mix 100 g of onions and 100 g of carom seeds and feed it to the animal after grinding and mixing them with water. Within half an hour gas is expelled, and the animal feels relieved. For animals suffering from repeat breeding syndrome, they take 250 g of soil of termite mound and mix 50 g of turmeric powder in it, and feed it for five days. They also feed a mixture of jaggery and yeast. Wheat flour mixed with sugar is also given.
They also soak 500 g of math beans (Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq) Marechŕl) and feed it to animals. To increase milk production in animals, they provide 1 kg of corn grits (dalia) along with their regular feed. For the treatment of scabies (eczema), they make a paste by grinding karanja seeds (Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre) and apply it as a lotion. The remedy should be applied for three to four days. When oxen have shoulder problems (yoke gall), they grind a piece of the root of a ‘ber tree’ (Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.) and apply it as a paste. Within two days, the wound dries up.
(Also see HB 3(1), 1992: 17, HB 19(2),
2008: 9. 17 : Ed.)
34108 Pest control for groundnut
Karmashabhai Manjibhai Vanpariya Pipali (Bavani), Tk. Keshod, Dist. Junagadh
Groundnut crop is very prone to black aphid infestation. He employs a seed treatment method. For every
20 kg of seeds, he uses a solution made from 1 L of cow urine mixed with
250 g of asafoetida powder. Irrigating the seeds with this mixture repels black aphids.
(Also see Honey Bee 13(3): 13 ; 2002)
34109 Innovative methods for organic
farming of banana
Jodiya Odhabhai Jagabhai
Sanala, Tk. Jesar, Dist. Bhavnagar
Farmer uses cooked rice steep as a growth promoter. According to him, cook 1 kg of rice, and separate the rice water in a pot. Cover the pot, and bury it in a pit that is half a foot deep in a shaded area. He pours this solution into a barrel containing 200 L of water and uses it to irrigate the land. It acts as an effective bacteriacide, stimulates root growth, and enhances the plants’ disease resistance.
(also see Nabayi A, Sung CTB, Zuan ATK, Paing TN. 2021; https:// doi.org/10.3390/su132313437)
As per the requirement, he puts 7 - 8 kg of aakda leaves (Calotropis gigantea (L.) Dryand.) in 200 L water. This solution is then strained using a cloth, and sprayed or delivered by drip in the field. This solution is reported to overcome potassium and sulphur deficiency but much more research is needed to establish these claims. By this method, the size and weight of the banana are increased, and the taste is enhanced as well.
(Also see Honey Bee 10(4):12 ; 1999 organic manure for bananas: Ed.)
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 34(1)12-14, 2023 |
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