| Details of Innovation |
Heliothis, spotted boll worm and aphid are generally found in cotton. Aphids are also common in brinjal, chilli and lucerne in Amreli district of Saurashtra.
Dhirubhai Kachadiya has been experimenting to find indigenous insecticide which can be prepared at home from locally available chemicals and plant extracts. Last year, he prepared a small amount of such mixture from dried tobacco leaves (250 g), ‘hirakasi’ (300 g) and citric acid. He mixed all these ingredients and boiled them in about one to two litres of water and filtered the decoction. Approximately, 250 ml of the decoction was mixed in 15 litres (one pump full) water and sprayed over the crop. Depending upon the growth and density of the crop, total quantity required varied; however three to four pumps were enough for the cotton crop. After a week the decoction was sprayed again. He noticed that it could control the pest complex in cotton and the growth of the plants was also boosted.
Ratilalbhai Kachadia of the same village learnt about Dhirubhai’s experiment and its result. Instead of citric acid, he used copper sulphate. The other ingredients and the process remained the same. The quantity he used was also smaller; he mixed only 100 ml of decoction in one pump of water and sprayed over the cotton crop during same year. He also had encouraging results especially in controlling larval pests. But he did not notice any increment, as Dhirubhai had, in the growth of the crop. Dhirubhai explains, the growth was the effect of citric acid. Dhirubhai got to learn about insecticidal properties of ingredients from different people during his travel to neighbouring villages.
Thirty-five-year old Dhirubhai Patel, stays in a joint family. He has studied upto second standard and has been involved since then in farming. He has four hectares of land, a well, two bullocks, three buffaloes, a bullock cart and the necessary farming equipments of his own. He sows cotton, castor and groundnut in monsoon and wheat and lucerne in winter.
During the 1987-88 famine, when there was no water in his well, he took land on lease in neighbouring village which had irrigation facility. He cultivated lucerne and other fodder crop. He designed a cart run by the oil engine (no more in use in his dried well) for transporting green fodder everyday. Two other farmers also got made such carts from Dhirubhai. The following year he separated the oil engine and reinstalled it at the well.
(Dhirubhai has plans to try out two other formulations of his own for pest control shortly. The first method includes leaves of ‘kidamari’ (Aristolochia bracteolata) and neem, urea, while other method includes ‘kuver’ leaves, jaggery, chilli etc. He now feels that chemical pesticides are neither appropriate nor effective and hence wants to adopt indigenous methods. He has purchased small balance for weighing ingredients. Dhirubhai is well informed and knows about eminent Indian scientists and speaks about them with great pride. He is a regular listener of All India Radio especially of programmes like ‘gram sabha’ and other agricultural programmes. It is a different matter that these progrmmes have seldom helped him in search of alternatives.) |
Honey Bee Network Knowledge & Innovation Database (HBNKIND)