|
Organisation
|
Centre
for Plant Protection Studies, Tamil
Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU),
Coimbatore |
|
Project
name
|
Dissemination of Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) techniques in papaya, tapioca
and mulberry in three districts of Tamil
Nadu |
|
Grant
operationalised
|
April
2011 |
|
Duration
|
3 years |
|
Grant
amount sanctioned
|
Rs2.41 million |
Activities within
the grant and impact:
The three-year project with the Centre for
Plant Protection Studies (CPPS), Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University (TNAU), is aimed
at disseminating and validating effective
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technology
in order to minimise insecticide / pesticide
usage, which would increase farmer income
through reducing input cost and crop loss,
whilst conserving biodiversity, natural
pest enemies and the overall agro-ecosystem.
The project is planned in three blocks of
Coimbatore, Salem and Tirrupur districts
of Tamil Nadu for implementing IPM technologies
in mulberry, tapioca and papaya with a total
outreach of 1,200 households.
The key objectives of the project are:
|
|
Dissemination
of IPM technology for papaya mealy bug
in mulberry, tapioca and papaya to enable
farmers to identify and monitor papaya
mealy bug attack, adopt need based application
of pesticides and achieve pest control
through bio-control agents / botanical
pesticides / parasitoids |
|
|
Study and evaluate the impact of adopting
scientifically validated IPM technology
on increase in income / yield, pesticide
use, toxicity and natural enemies |
|
|
Identify gaps in adoption of IPM technology
through regular monitoring and assessment
and develop mechanisms to bridge these
gaps and strengthen project implementation. |
The average cost of cultivation incurred
by farmers per acre per crop is Rs25,000
for tapioca and mulberry and Rs60,000 for
papaya. Through IPM, the cost of chemicals
can be reduced to Rs2,000 per acre for mulberry
and tapioca and Rs10,000 per acre for papaya.
Wherever parasitoids have been successful
in complete eradication, the cost for pest
control of papaya mealy in all these crops
will reduce to close to nil, apart from
1 or 2 prophylactic sprays, which farmers
may undertake. A minimum of 80 per cent
control of papaya mealy bug will be achieved
through use of parasitoids in addition to
reduction in environmental pollution and
reduction of entry of chemical residue in
the food chain.
|
