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Sustainable insect pest management in Indian cotton

OAR@ICRISAT

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/1917/
 
Title Sustainable insect pest management in Indian cotton
 
Creator Russell, D A
McCaffery, A
Kranthi, K
Regupathy, A
Jadhav, D R
et al, .
 
Subject Entomology
 
Description Throughout the cotton-growing areas of India, intensified production, increased use of
irrigation and the excessive use of pesticides have led to the major cotton pests evolving
resistance to the chemicals used against them: for example, resistance to common
pyrethroids used in bollworm control can reach close to 100% by the end of the cotton
season in heavily sprayed areas. This resistance encourages the application of more and
stronger insecticides, leading to a classic 'pesticide treadmill'. Two related projects, focusing
on southern India (R6734) and the irrigated cotton-growing systems of the Punjab
(R6760*) have developed and tested integrated pest management (lPM) packages of methods
that reduce the need for insecticides. Using the recommended IPM methods, farmers
encourage the build-up of the bollworm's natural predators, and target limited sprays of
recommended insecticides on the pest only when absolutely necessary. The results have
been dramatic. Reduced costs of production and increased yields of cotton resulted in
massively increased incomes to farmers. In the last (1998/99) season, farmers using the
IPM package in southern India achieved average profits of £176 per ha, compared with
£38 per ha for other farmers. Farmers' strong enthusiasm generated by these results
attracted widespread coverage by local news media, and this in turn has fuelled strong
demands for expansion into other districts. Use of the recommended IPM package has
already reduced hazards to the environment and human health, and improved the profitability
and reliability of cotton harvests for hundreds of poor rural families dependent on
the cotton crop. The future widespread adoption of these methods now seems assured,
and will have a major and sustainable impact on improving the livelihoods of small-scale
farmers, on human welfare and on the environment.
 
Publisher Natural Resources International Limited
 
Contributor Sweetmore, A
Rothschild, G
Eden-Green, S J
 
Date 2001
 
Type Book Section
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
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Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/1917/1/Sustainable_insect_pest_management_in_Indian_cotton.pdf
Russell, D A and McCaffery, A and Kranthi, K and Regupathy, A and Jadhav, D R and et al, . (2001) Sustainable insect pest management in Indian cotton. In: Perspectives on pests: Achievements of Research under the UK Department for International Development's Crop Protection Programme, 1996-2000. Natural Resources International Limited, Chautham, UK, pp. 95-97. ISBN 0-9539274-1-5