Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
locusts move in swarms to save their butts. Literally, say researchers from the us, the uk and Australia. They are a menace for crops, because they move around in swarms. But their collective movement is hardly a sign of unity. The fact is there is a constant threat of attack …
Mango trees in Malda district, West Bengal, were known for honey bees and were the source of mango honey. Malda beekeepers say honey bees have started avoiding mango trees because of large-scale use of pesticides; they have now shifted to mustard plants.
This paper estimates and compares the paid-out cost of cultivation of wheat in India, the most state-protected crop, during the input subsidy regime of the 1970s and 1980s and after its abolition in the 1990s, when economic reforms were initiated. The study uses the valuable time series information collected as …
faced with increasing scientific evidence of pesticides-induced health disorders, the Punjab government has decided to begin a cancer registry programme. Adding to numerous health studies, two recent reports have revealed the fast-deteriorating public health in the state (See
punjab has finally made cancer-registry compulsory in the state. Despite numerous scientific reports revealing the public health crisis in the state, the government had obstinately resisted any redress mechanism. The recent decision comes in the wake of two new scientific reports. One shows that pesticides are damaging genes of farmers …
This article reflects on issues governing pesticides safe and sound management in India, various international agreements to which India is a party and the avenues of improvement in the regulatory framework.
A pot experiment was conducted to study the toxic effect of nematicides: carbofuran, carbosulfan alone and their combination on soil microbial population and soil respiration with cotton as a test crop. The total bacterial population and free living diazotrophs population was reduced initially by nematicides application. With progress of time …
The present studies are based on the feedback provided by Punjab fish farmers practising composite fish culture of Indian major and exotic carps. According to them, during the southwest monsoon, in ponds in the vicinity of toxicant (monocrotophos)-treated paddy fields, the eye lens of most of the culturable fishes became …
Benin, a country on the western coast of Africa, has banned use of the pesticide endosulphan. The decision, taken in February this year, is based on the recommendations of a four-year study conducted by Pesticide Action Network (pan) Africa, pan uk and ngo s in West Africa. The ban, which …
Considering the stiff competition from various fruit producing countries, Indian growers have the great responsibility to keep the pesticide residue levels to the minimum to meet international standards. Various research organisations have developed integrated approaches to control pest and disease problems. Hence, it is imperative to adopt such measures which …
Pesticides are very expensive chemicals and require a lot of investment and research effort and thus their useful life needs to be prolonged through judicious use. Contrary to the opinion of many, it is now well established that pesticides have a definite role to play in pest management, as they …
The Aral Sea in Central Asia was the fourth-largest lake on the planet in 1960. By 2007 it had shrunk to 10 percent of its original size. Widespread, wasteful irrigation of the deserts along the Amu and Syr rivers, which feed the Aral, cut the freshwater inflow to a trickle. …
In Little League dugouts, community parks, professional athletic organizations, and international soccer leagues, on college campuses and neighborhood playgrounds, even in residential yards, the question being asked is "grass or plastic?' The debate is over synthetic turf, used to blanket lawns, park spaces, and athletic fields where children and adults …
it is believed that women who grow up on farms have a strong immunity and face a lower risk of allergies than those who don't grow up on farms. A study has found that farm women may be at a risk of contracting allergic asthma
eleven peafowl found dead in Punjab were killed by food contaminated with pesticides. Nine peahens and two peacocks died in Ladhowal forest area near Ludhiana on December 26. The state forest department had earlier suggested that bird flu
A model for the wetland part of KNP is presented and analyzed. Two-dimensional parameter scans suggest that this minimal model possesses dynamical complexities. Per capita availability of water to
on november 9, papers in Punjab ran stories about a study exposing high levels of pesticides in blood samples of people in the state. Pesticides were also on the agenda that day at a symposium at the Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana. But the "experts' gathered at the meet were …
Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana) is an important indigenous fruit. The farmers of western Rajasthan have adopted various commercial improved varities of ber at large scale. However, the attack of pests and diseases on ber/ber based cropping system is a major problem of ber growers. The low fertility level of the soil …
Pesticide consumption in Punjab shot up following the Green Revolution. According to the Directorate of Plant Protection and Quarantine, pesticide consumption in the state increased from 3,200 tonnes in 1980-81 to 7,300 tonnes in 1994-95 but came down to 5,970 tonnes in 2005-06 Pesticide use in Punjab is the highest …
