Natural Pest Control

June 26, 2008

India’s online newspaper has an interesting article about ancient methods of pest control. Rather than use commercial pesticides, which can be expensive and difficult to obtain, these farmers have reverted to using the methods their ancestors used. And why not? These methods have proven effective and prevent many from going into debt.

In Kozhikottu pothai, a village in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, use of these ancient methods has been widely accepted. “These preparations can serve as a quick remedy to temporarily stop the increasing incidence of crop pests and also help farmers to phase out their dependence on chemical pesticides, which in turn will prevent them from sinking into debts,” said Mr. S. Aravindan, Social scientist.

For example, farmers use a pest repellant made from papaya leaves. It is made by soaking about one kg of papaya leaves in water (the entire leaves should be submerged) overnight. The leaves are then ground and mixed in a litre of water and sprayed over the crops.

Click to see the rest of the methods

Written by Matt · Filed Under Pest Control