Question raised in Rajya Sabha on charging stations for electric vehicles, 20/07/2022. The number of electric vehicles in the country is 13,34,385 (excluding data of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Lakshadweep, which is not available in Vahan 4) as on 14-07-2022 and a total of 2826 Public Charging Stations …
THE EXPERIENCE of Kudumbam, a voluntary organisation based in Tamil Nadu's Pudukottai district, shows organic farming is more readily accepted by villagers when propagated by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) than by individual farmers. Kudumbam disseminates knowledge on organic farming through its Tamil monthly, Pasuthalir. With the help of the local …
THE PESTICIDES Association of India (PAI) and the ministry of environment and forests (MEF) are at loggerheads over a draft notification that includes pesticides in the list of products to be covered by the eco-mark scheme. The scheme labels products that are environment friendly. Though the MEF claims this will …
ENTOMOLOGISTS have identified a fungus (Pandora delphacis) that can kill two types of pests -- brown planthoppers (Nilaparvata lugens) and green leafhoppers (Nephotettix spp) -- that target the rice crop in India. P Narayanasamy and L Udaya Prabhakar of Annamalai University and R A Humber of the US department of …
The suspicion that the exotic Mexican beetle (Zigogramma bicolorata) may be causing more harm than good has been confirmed by the Union agriculture ministry. The ministry's plant protection adviser, R L Rajak, has asked agricultural universities to stop immediately multiplication and distribution of the species. The beetle was introduced in …
SCIENTISTS at the Malaria Research Centre (MRC), New Delhi, say neem oil used in low concentrations effectively repels malaria-carrying mosquitoes that are resistant to pesticides. This is welcome news because malaria has re-emerged as a major public health threat because the malaria-causing microorganism, Plasmodium falciparum, is increasingly resistant to chloroquine …
INDIAN scientists are exploring the possibility that neem could provide a non-toxic AIDS therapy. In Ayurveda and Unani, neem is prescribed for diverse ailments ranging from skin diseases to diabetes. Scientists at the National Institute of Immunology (NII), New Delhi, postulate neem's efficacy is not so much because of its …
INDIA'S miracle neem (Azadirachta indica) is moving from the laboratory to the market and many US and Australian firms are getting involved in manufacturing neem-based pesticides. Says Michael O'Shea, managing director of Neemoil Australia Pvt Ltd, "Indian suppliers have been swarming about us like flies around honey." In USA, a …
AN ENVIRONMENTALLY safe, biotechnological toxin that kills mosquito larvae has been produced by the Centre for Biotechnology (CBT) at Anna University in Tamil Nadu. Named Biocide-S because it is produced from the Bacillus sphaericus bacterium, the pesticide has been successfully field-tested in a yearlong project at Kochi in Kerala. The …
Ever since the use of insecticides was reduced in favour of biological control, British gardeners are discovering that some pests are on the increase (Financial Times, Oct 31/Nov 1, 1992). Now, there are friendly insects to control white flies, greenhouse red spider mites and vine weevils. Encarsia formosa, a tiny …
SCIENTISTS at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in Coimbatore have successfully used viruses to control pests. Mass production units are now being set up to meet the rapidly increasing demand for these viruses, says P C Sundara Babu, head of the entomology department at TNAU. TNAU scientists are using …
