Adoption of Rationale Indigenous Crop Protection Measures by “Malayali” Tribes of Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu

Abstract

The study focus on the Indigenous Crop Protection Practices (ICPPs), facilitated by the wisdom of local tribal inhabitant of Kolli hills located at Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu in India, without sententious deterioration or decline in crop production or productivity. Keep this in mind, ICPPs were collected, documented, rationalized and refined before being completely obsolete. Methodology: Forty-one ICPPs were documented from selected seven cluster villages of Kolli Hills. The selected ICPPs on crop protection were sent to fifty crop protection scientists to assess the rationality. After analysing the rationality, the extent of adoption of those ICPPs on crop protection were administered among the tribal farmers. Results: Out of 41 ICPPs, the scientists rated 31 ICPPs and 10 ICPPs as rational and irrational respectively. The overall adoption of the ICPPs on crop protection were found to be more than 50 per cent since being in used from ancient period. Interpretation: The rational and efficacious ICPPs ought to be amalgamated and with the latest know-how with technology integration for better sustainability. This research focuses on the practice wise rationality as well as the adoption of ICPPs by tribal farmers, which can be taken beyond for further validation.