VISAKHAPATNAM: AT a time when recurrent pest attacks on crops and harmful effect of indiscriminate use chemical pesticides is giving the farmers and scientists the jitters, the scientists at the CSIR- Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, have come up with an eco-friendly way of keeping the pest infestation at bay. They have developed a pheromone trap which can kill insects in the fields itself, restricting their multiplication without application of any toxic chemical.
Pheromone is a biochemical the pests release to attract the opposite sex for mating. This device uses pheromones to attract a particular pest which gets trapped and killed in the process. Having implemented the technology successfully in Nalgonda, Adilabad, Gujarat and in some parts of Guntur and Srikakulam districts, the CSIR is now trying to spread it across Andhra Pradesh, by imparting to farmers. “The traps are small cone-shaped plastic bags containing pheromones and are placed at the corners of the crop fields. As insects communicate through smell, they get attracted only to get trapped in the bags. Once trapped, they can’t go out of the bag and get killed,” S Chandra Sekhar, director of CSIR- IICT says.
“This biological control method helps farmers avoid the use of chemical insecticides which are harmful to crops, soil health and environment at large,” he explains He added that already, the method has been successfully implemented in around 25,000 hectares in Nalgonda, Adilabad and Gujarat. Four traps can be used for an acre of farmland. However, he says that the traps are effective when the pest numbers are low.
“Approximately, 3 to 5mg of pheromone is used per trap which remains effective for about a month. As one trap costs `30, farmer can ensure effective pet control by spending around `1,000 per season,” says IICT, Semiochemicals head Subba Reddy.