Push for renewed Integrated Pest Management techniques to improve agricultural practices

New Delhi [India], March 8 (ANI/Parijat): Integrated Pest Management (IPM), is generally referred to as a crop protection solution to address pest problems while minimizing the risks to the people and the environment.
IPM is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on the long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices, and the use of resistant varieties.
Pesticides are used only after monitoring indicates they are needed according to established pest threshold limits, and after cultural and biological control measures have been exhausted.
The erstwhile Ministry of Agriculture recognized the need to divert the agricultural practices adopted by the farmers to a more sustainable manner by introducing integrated pest management in the early 1980s.
The recent concerns over residues of pesticides being detected in food commodities of Indian origin have also taken a toll on exports of such commodities i.e., grains or perishable fruits and vegetables.
India had the opportunity to successfully enhance the crop yields during the green revolution in the early 1960s, and attain food security by the 1990s. Despite the reduction in arable land over the past few decades mainly due to urbanization and industrial growth, record yields have been attained. being attained during the past decade.
While food security had been attained, we have also ended up with a number of environmental concerns, causes of such are attributed to the excess use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
To give a shot in the arm to reinvigorate this process, a five-day IPM Orientation Training Programme on Integrated Pest Management was organized by the Regional Central IPM Centre (RCIPMC), Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, Faridabad from March 1-5, 2021 at Horticulture Training Institute, Uchani, Karnal
Dr Jasvir Singh, Joint Director, RCIPMC, Faridabad said the objective of this training was to train the extension officials of the State Department of Agriculture and Horticulture departments of the State of Haryana on various techniques to be adopted for the promotion of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and to promote the IPM among the State farming community through this extension personnel.
The training involved both classroom and field activities. 40 Extension officials had participated from the Haryana State Agriculture and Horticulture department and the RCIPMC, Faridabad. This extension official represented major districts of the State of Haryana i.e. Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Sonipat, Ambala, Yamunanagar and Panchkula.
Vipin Saini, CEO of Sunrakshan Foundation, Faridabad had imparted a training lecture on the Safe & Judicious Use of Pesticides. Incidentally, the foundation has been involved with the Horticulture Training Institute, Uchani, Karnal for the past decade in imparting information to the scientific and farming community during various training organised by HTI, Karnal. Sunrakshan Foundation distributed a training manual on 1. Safe and Judicious Use of Pesticides and 2.
Crop Protection training guide. Hindi versions of both publications were distributed. Interestingly, both publications have been published along with HTI Karnal, wherein the latter was undertaken under CSR activity of Parijat Industries Pvt Ltd. in a PPP model.
This training programme addressed the various concerns over the international exotic pest, i.e. the Fall armyworm (FAW) that has been established across India since 2019 and crated a menace in the maize crop in particular. Its identification and Management were undertaken.
Further, awareness was also imparted to all the participants regarding the preparedness and cooperation expected by State Extension functionaries regarding the possible attack of the Desert locust and its control preparedness in case of any eventuality this year.
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