| Firm asks farmers to switch to its second-generation product to delay resistance further |
Pink bollworm resistant to pest-killing protein of Bt cotton in four districts
Monsanto's advice ridiculous, say scientists
NEW DELHI: For the first time anywhere in the world, biotech agriculture giant Monsanto has admitted that insects have developed resistance to its Bt cotton crop. Field monitoring in parts of Gujarat has discovered that the Bt crop is no longer effective against the pink bollworm pest.
The company is advocating that Indian farmers switch to its second-generation product to delay resistance further. Monsanto's critics say that this just proves the ineffectiveness of the Bt technology, which was recently sought to be introduced in India in Bt brinjal as well.
In November 2009, Monsanto's scientists detected unusual survival of the pink bollworm pest while monitoring the Bt cotton crop in Gujarat. In January and February, samples taken from the field were tested in Monsanto's laboratories. It has been confirmed that pink bollworm is now resistant to the pest-killing protein of Bt cotton in four districts — Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagarh and Rajkot.
Until now, Monsanto held that “there have been no confirmed cases of poor field performance of Bt cotton or Bt corn attributable to insect resistance.” Although there have been cases of insects resisting the technology in the laboratory, Monsanto held that “field resistance is the criterion of relevance to agricultural producers.”
Now that the company itself has admitted that its product has been proved ineffective against some insects on the fields of Gujarat, its advice to farmers is to start using its second generation product instead. “Farmers have another choice. We have a two-gene product called Bollgard II which has greater ability to delay resistance,” says Monsanto India's Director of Scientific Affairs Rashmi Nair. She also recommends that farmers conduct better monitoring and plant “refuges,” or areas of non-Bt crop which would attract insects.
Agricultural scientists and activists say Monsanto's advice is “ridiculous”. The Bollgard II has no additional toxin to combat pink bollworm, says G.V. Ramanjaneyulu of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture. It is simply that as a newer product, Bollgard II will take longer for the pest to develop resistance. Anyway, the Bt toxin is active only for 90 days, while pink bollworm is a late season pest, he adds.
“All the hype about the effectiveness of Bt against pests is bogus …This proves that you can't stay ahead of the pest with … this shortsighted approach,” says Kavitha Kuruganti of the Kheti Virasat Mission. Indian farmers with small holdings cannot be expected to give up large parts of their land for non- productive “refuges,” added Dr. Ramanjaneyulu.
Monsanto's Dr. Nair says the Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) was informed of the resistance “eight to ten days ago.” The CICR, which has been collaborating in the field monitoring of Bt cotton since 2003, has reported this to the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), she said. However, the Ministry of Environment and Forests seemed to have been unaware of the test results until Monsanto issued a statement on Friday.Over the last month, the GEAC and the Ministry have been at the centre of a storm regarding the government's moratorium on commercial release of Bt brinjal.
Critics are now pointing to the ineffectiveness of Bt cotton in Gujarat to strengthen their case against Bt brinjal as well.
| Hundreds of cultivable areas are turning into residential plots |
“There is a popular adage in English, “give a man a fish he lives for a day, teach him to fish he lives for a lifetime,” This is exactly what our farmers need today.
“Instead of buying external inputs such as seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, they should learn to make and use their own bio pest repellents, and plant growth promoters,” says Dr. G. Namalwar, organic scientist from Tamil Nadu.
If one studies the agricultural scenario of the past 40 years, one observes that hundreds of cultivable areas are turning into residential plots.
Why is this happening in a country with more than 1,500 years of agricultural heritage?
Wrong focus
The answer is simple. The Green Revolution focused more on increased inputs and yields and totally ignored the local and traditional knowledge systems of the farmers.
As a result, in 40 years we lost our native seed varieties, our lands became barren, native birds and insects which helped the crops grow well vanished, water tables started depleting, cross breeding of hybrid cows made several native breeds extinct and there has been more migration towards cities due to unemployment in rural areas.
Not remunerative
Today there is a general view that farming is not remunerative and that a farmer cannot cultivate unless he obtains loans.
“It is true that farming is not lucrative as long as a farmer uses external inputs for growing his crops. On the other hand if he switches to sustainable agriculture as was done by his forefathers then he can definitely cut down a major expense on his input,” he emphasises.
Friendly farming
Hundreds of farmers have realised this truth and have switched over to more environmental friendly farming systems and are reaping good results.
Farmers just need to look around their own fields or village for making any bio inputs.
All the necessary inputs required for their farm are there and there is no need for them to go to the towns and buy, according to Dr. Namalwar. He says that, for example, for making a plant growth stimulant labelled as herbal tea, take an iron, plastic or cement tank and fill it with water (3/4 full).
Take 5 kg of cow dung and any medicinal plant leaves (such as neem, nochi, custard apple leaves), one-fourth kg jaggery and one big stone or brick.
Place all the above mentioned items inside a jute sack, tie the mouth of the sack tightly with a rope and immerse it inside the water.
Leave the other end of the rope free. Shake the sack, holding the free end of the rope two times everyday in such a way that the contents inside the sack mix well with the water (similar to the tea bags immersed in milk).
One week time
In one week the ‘herbal tea’ for the crop is ready for use. It can be either poured directly near the root zone of the crops or sprayed. For one litre dilute in nine litres of water and use.
Amudha Karaisal
Similarly take 1 kg of fresh cow dung, urine and Ipomoea Cornea (Tamil name Neiveli Kattamanakku) leaves each and 25 gm of jaggery. Mix all these well in 10 litres of water and stir well (3 times a day). In 24 hours the solution (Amudha Karaisal, AK) is ready. For use, dilute one litre of AK in 10 litres of water and spray or mix with irrigating water.
But how far are these local systems beneficial in the long run?
“These traditional systems have existed for hundreds of years and only for the past 4-5 decades have they disappeared.
Realised importance
But today our farmers have realised the importance of going back to these systems as they are pocket friendly and effective,” he opines.
Though we have policies which speak out in support of the farmer, sadly they are only on paper and not put in action.
“A farmer must realize that he alone is responsible and answerable for his yield. These systems may look insignificant but their results are proven and have been found effective by a number of farmers,” he says.
For more information readers can contact Dr. G. Namalwar through email: sadhguru@gmail.com and mobile: 94425-31699.
Shoot and fruit borer in brinjal BRINJAL IS prone to attack bythe brinjal fruit and shoot borer, Luecinodes arbonalis. During the early stages of the crop the larva bores into the shoots resulting in drying and dropping of shoots. On reproduction, the larva bores into the flower buds and fruits and plugs the entrances with excreta. Control measures — Collect and destroy the affected fruits and shoots. — Avoid monocropping and crop rotation with potato. — Use optimum dose of Nitrogen fertilizers — Three soil applications of neem cake at 2.5 q ha at the time of transplanting, 1 and 2 months after transplanting. — Application of neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) 5 per cent. — Three sprays of insecticides like profenophos 50EC (2ml/l) or thiodiocarb 75 WP (lg/l) or carbaryl 50 WP (2g/l) or malathion 50 EC (2ml/l) during flowering stages at 15 days interval is advised. S.S. Karabhantanal Anand Hallikeri University of
& S. Doddagowdar
Agricultural Sciences
Dharwad
Custard apple is mainly used as a dessert fruit. Developing fruits are often infested by two species of mealy bugs mainly the striped mealy bug and citrus mealy bug. These mealy bugs are small, pink coloured and soft bodied insects covered with white mealy wax. Nymphs and adults fix their mouth at fissures and furrows of rounded fleshy tubercles of the green fruits. When they infest developing fruits and suck the sap the size of the fruit becomes diminished, shrivelled and undergo premature dropping. These mealy bugs also infest at fruit stalks, leaves and terminal shoots causing, yellowing and drying symptoms.
Pest biology
The pest prefers dry weather and heavy incidence often occurs following periods of prolonged drought. They are active and mobile throughout their life. Reproduction is both sexual and through parthenogenesis, the latter being more common. Females lay 100-300 eggs which hatch into nymphs in 3-4 days. The nymph’s period is around 45 days. The longevity of males is 1 to 3 days while that of females extends from 36 to 53 days.
Management methods
To check the infestation of these pests, remove and destroy the affected leaves, fruits and twigs. Apply diazinon or monocrotophos at 0.1 per cent concentration. Spraying of 5 per cent neem seed kernel extract or 3 per cent neem oil suspension is effective. The soil around trees should be ploughed up to a depth of 75 cm followed by mixing of dust formulation of insecticides such as lindane 1.3 per cent or endosulfan 4 per cent at 10 kg/ acre could be done.
A number of parasites are parasitizing the mealy bugs in nature as biological control agents. Release of Cryptoleamus montrouzieri (ladybird beetle) @ 10 Nos./ tree would be quite effective to predate upon the eggs and nymphs of the mealy bugs.
J. JAYARAJ
& M. ANANTHAN
Horticultural Research Station
Thadiyankudisai, Perumparai, Dindigul
Tamil Nadu
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