Paper short abstract:

Insecticides, used in vegetable cultivation are causing harm to the environment by poisoning men and animals and by killing beneficial insects. Traditional methods which have been used for hundred of years are still of effective in pest control. They do not at all normally pose any pollution hazard.

Paper long abstract:

Traditional farming systems in India are the reservoirs of a huge variety of crops, many of which are still un-documented. The indigenous practices are interlinked with animal-forest-farm resources. This traditional knowledge is used in weather forecast, soil and water management and management of insect pest and disease. Sustainable planning of pest management is one of the most important aspects of modern agriculture particularly in vegetable cultivation. Synthetic chemicals are causing tremendous harm to the environment by poisoning men and animals and by killing useful and beneficial insects. Pests are getting resistant to the chemicals used and these are getting too expensive for poor farmers. High technologies lead to problems of resource management and pollution besides developing the remedial measures like use of bio-fertilizers, integrated pest management including biological pest control methods. In this aspect our country has assets. Traditional pesticides include not only substances derived from plants but also from animals, inert materials and by-products of plants also. Today about 2000 plants containing insecticides are known. These are mostly wild plants barring a few domestically used. Traditional methods of pest control which have been used for hundred of years are still of effective. Moreover, they do not at all normally pose any pollution hazard. This paper is an attempt to document some of the indigenous farming practices of management of insect pests in vegetable fields followed by traditional farmers of India.

Keywords: Pests, pesticides, pollution, sustainable farming