Pune: CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) has developed eco-friendly, integrated pest management in agriculture approach with a technology using microorganisms such as fungi and their products.
According to CSIR-NCL’s Principal Investigator of the Bio-Control Programme MV Deshpande, in view of recent deaths of farmers due to chemical insecticides, there is an increasing receptivity of farmers for eco-friendly microbials to control pests and pathogens.
The integrated pest management technology has a three-way approach to control pests and pathogens on crops. “There are different microbials which have different functions to control pests. For instance, we can make use of microorganisms, then there are different enzymes which have the ability to degrade the protective covers of pests and pathogens and lastly antibiotics, which stop the synthesis of protective cover. These are the three different approaches which have been taken care of under this integrated method, which can be used together or sequentially,” he said.
Speaking about the cost-effectiveness of this new method, Deshpande said, farmers budge on application cost than production cost. “If you start spraying biopesticides early, at the stage when pests are about to appear on the crop, then the number of sprays of biopesticides required is less, ultimately reducing the need of manpower as well. So this is technically more cost-effective,” he said.
“Farmers should know the lifecycle of pests and pathogens. For instance, the crop cycles of vegetables and pulses last for around three months, so farmers should monitor when the pest and pathogen develop on the crop and depending on it, the spray needs to be used,” said Deshpande.
“Biopesticides are of preventive nature and not curative. By monitoring the pests and pathogens, the farmer has to create a schedule for when to apply biopesticide for effective result,”he said.
CSIR-NCL has recently signed a Technology Licensing Agreement (TLA) with Greenvention Biotech Pvt Ltd, for integrated pest and pathogen management. CSIR-NCL Director Ashwini Kumar Nangia and Greenvention Biotech Executive Director Santosh Tupe were present to sign the TLA.
