Monday, October 11, 1999
Monday, October 11, 1999 |
Handle pesticides with care By V.K. Garg THE use of pesticides is becoming an increasingly necessary operation in the consistent and economic production of crops throughout the world. It is an operation which requires due consideration, otherwise it may prove hazardous to man, domestic animals and crops, or ineffective and uneconomic. Electricity
from cow dung Echo
of ecosystem Superior
hybrid of sunflower
|
 |
|
Handle pesticides with care THE use of pesticides is becoming an increasingly necessary operation in the consistent and economic production of crops throughout the world. It is an operation which requires due consideration, otherwise it may prove hazardous to man, domestic animals and crops, or ineffective and uneconomic. During development and registration of a pesticide before release for sale, exhaustive testing reveals all dangers to man and animals during the handling and application of the pesticides. The results of these tests are written on the labels which should always be followed. The danger of potential toxicity is indicated by the colour of the triangle (extremely toxic — red, highly toxic — yellow; moderately toxic — blue and slightly toxic — green) given on the pesticide pack. Pesticides should always be handled in such a way that the possibility of harm to non-target organisms, including man, is kept to the minimum. To avoid an accident while handling pesticides the following precautions should always be observed. The basic rule for storage, handling, application and disposal of pesticides is to read the label carefully before opening the container and to follow the instruction given on the leaflet always present inside the pesticide container. Where pesticide use is being introduced to an area for the first time, or if there is a significant change in the techniques, user training must be organised by companies, agricultural universities, dealers, retailers, etc. Farmers must ensure that the pesticide product they buy is one they have been recommended to use. The pesticide container must be carefully examined before purchase for any leaking, tampered seals or lack of original labels. Pesticides should always be handled or mixed either in the open air or in a well ventilated place and never in closed stores which lack adequate ventilation. If handled in closed quarters, highly toxic pesticides may cause poisoning through inhalation. If the pesticides are volatile liquids, they may cause fires or explosions. Pesticide containers should always be opened carefully to avoid splashing of liquids and billowing of dusts. Never use mouth to siphon a pesticide from a container. Never reuse the empty containers of the pesticides. The containers should be disposed of properly. Before disposing rinse them twice with water to remove the active ingredient. If the container is small remove caps and lids. Punch holes in the metal containers and crush glass containers. Then they should be buried at least 50 cm deep at a private disposal site. The containers of cardboard, paper, polythelene, etc may also be disposed of in same way. If the container is very big in size like drum, barrel, etc they should be returned to the supplier or manufacturer. Pesticide should never be subdivided into or stored in any but their original containers. This practice leads to confusion as to the real contents of the container and several casualties have happened when concentrated pesticides have been swallowed from unlabelled wine, beer or medicine bottles. If pesticide is to be stored, store them properly in labelled containers and also keep the pesticides under lock and key, out of the reach of children and animals. Do not take meals or smoke or rub eyes during spraying. Keep eatables and drinking water away from the pesticides to avoid contamination. Keep rodenticide baits and pesticide-treated seeds away from food stuffs to avoid accidental consumption. Absorption of pesticides may also occur in the body through skin, so one should wear protective clothing while spraying pesticide to avoid prolonged exposure to the pesticide. Special care should be taken to prevent inhalation. Always wear rubber gloves when handling concentrates. Rinse the gloves with water before removing them. Do not turn the gloves inside out when removing. If pesticide falls on the body, wash the affected area quickly and thoroughly with soap and water. Take soap bath routinely after each day of spraying. If any one is exposed to pesticide and shows sign of illness (generally drowsiness, dizziness, nausea with or without vomiting, flushing, chills or convulsions),immediately stop further contamination and bring him to the fresh air and give first aid and contact the doctor for treatment. Do not mix pesticides in concentrations higher than those recommended in package of practices. Measure accurately. This will ensure the application of safe and accurate dose. When applying spray or dust, work into the breeze or at the right angle to it, thus the pesticide will be blown away from you instead of onto you. Guard against drift of pesticides onto the nearby crops, animals or streams, ponds, lakes, etc. Do not spray on a windy day. Spray in windy or gusty weather is likely to increase loss of pesticide and an increased risk of spray drift affecting susceptible crops. The best time to spray is, therefore, in the cool moist calm conditions of early morning and evening or when there is a slight and steady breeze blowing away from any nearby crop. Keep spray pumps clean and in good condition. Do not use leaky or poor quality spray pumps. Do not blow out clogged nozzles with the mouth; clean them with water or a soft prob such as a grass stem, etc. Never wash them in the waterways. That may be harmful to aquatic life. General first aid: It is easier to prevent poisoning than to treat, so handle pesticides carefully. People may be taken ill from natural causes when handling pesticides and it is important to establish that a pesticide is involved before treatment is given. Wrong treatment may make a patient’s condition worse. If any one is exposed to pesticides, remove the patient to clean fresh air, remove any protective and contaminated clothing and wash all contaminated skin thoroughly with soap and water sufficiently. The patient should be shifted to the supervision of qualified doctor as early as possible. If the eyes are affected they should be washed with plenty of clean running water for several minutes, holding them open with the fingers, if necessary, and then lightly padded and bandaged. If a pesticide has been swallowed, the patient should be made to vomit if conscious (do not induce vomiting if unconscious) with ipecac syrup if available or by tickling the back of the throat with a clean spoon or finger. Ensure that breathing continues and that the air passage of the body is not blocked by vomit or any other material. If breathing weakens or stops, clear the air passage and start artificial respiration at once, maintaining it until the hospital or doctor is reached. A mixture of activated
charcoal, tannic acid and magnesium oxide in the ratio of
2:1:1 in warm water acts as a universal antidote. If it
is given to the patient, it will absorb or neutralise the
poison. In the rural areas, in the case of
non-availability of the above compounds charred papad (a
substitute for charcoal) and strong tea decoction
(substitute of tannic acid) can also be used as an
antidote. |
Electricity from cow dung IN a welcome move PEDA, the nodal agency of the Punjab Government for undertaking development of non-conventional sources of power, has embarked on the utilisation of cow dung or the cattle waste originating from the dairy units in the Haebowal complex in Ludhiana, for the production of electricity, in addition to organic manure. A modern plant is proposed to be put up which with an initial investment of around Rs 10 crore will supply about 1 MW of power, in addition to yielding organic manure. In the Haebowal complex there are about 200 private dairy units meeting the milk needs of the city’s population. The cattle waste or cow dung resulting from these dairy units are causing pollution problems. Most of the cow dung is “washed down” into the Budha Nullah on whose bank these dairy units are located. The proposed scheme of PEDA will be putting up a state-of-the-art plant which has not been adopted in the country before. It is proposed to discuss the “improved mode” of anaerobic digestion of cattle waste (cow dung) in this write-up. Gobar gas plants: In the presently sponsored models of biogas units, both for “family scale” and the “community scale” units, the mode used is “mesophilic” which works at temperatures around 30°C to 40°C and the consortium bacteria gives better efficiency in the above temperature range. If the temperature drops below, as is the case in winter months, these units stop producing biogas. In this mode the detention period is very lary, so vessel or digestor has to have a large capacity. In the current models used, as both acidic and methagenoic stages which require alkaline environment takes place in one vessel, the whole process is very sensitive and the acid boiling conditions occur most often. The biogas produced is also stored in the same vessel, so problems result and the conversion efficiency of solids is low and so is the calorific value of the gas produced which requires a special burning unit. Thermophilic mode: In this mode the consortium of bacteria deployed for bio-degradation of solids is different from that deployed in the mesophilic mode. This bacteria work at higher temperatures of 50°C to 60°C and operate at a much faster rate and with better efficiency of solid digestion. The control provided in this mode is better than the other mode working at a lower temperature range i.e. mesophilic mode. The detention period required is also smaller, so the size of reactor is smaller. Usually separate vessels are used to accomplish both acidic and alkaline stages in different vessels and the gas produced from each stage is collected and stored separately. The gas obtained is mainly carbon dioxide and separation of this gas improves the quality and calorific value of the gas. To improve the quality of produced gas, it is scrubbed to remove hydrogen sulphide gas present which imparts obnoxious odour (rotten eggs). The improved gas has comparable characteristics to that of the LPG fuel and the same burners can be used for the so-improved biogas. From the collected cow dung, the first operation involved is removal of dirt, sand, stones, bricks, etc. before loading the digestor, which is suitably insulated to preserve the temperature of the process. For this removal a rotary drum sieve is utilised. The slurry comprises carbohydrates, proteins and fats, which are worked upon by the consortium of bacteria to produce biogas comprising carbon dioxide, nitrogen, methane and traces of hydrogen sulphide, etc. The ambient range of pH required to prevail in the mix is between 6.2 to 7.8. At the first stage, the digestion of solids into fatty acids takes place which are later worked upon by the methagenic bacteria into the methane gas. If the latter process proceeds at a slower rate, then there is a gradual accumulation of the fatty acids and drop of pH value occurs leading to acidic conditions prevailing which, in turn, needing buffering action to restore the alkaline environment. The effluent from the process contains a large amount of water, in addition to particles which would produce manure. So the effluents need to be dewatered for obtaining manure and this is accomplished in the screw press and solids are recovered from the effluent. Thereafter, the liquid is aerobically stabilised before disposal. The effluent flowing out conforms to the standards set by the pollution control agency. The manure obtained is aerobically stabilised and provides an ideal soil conditioner and organic fertiliser. Power generation is carried out by using the biogas obtained as fuel in compression ignited internal combustion engines which operate entirely on the biogas. The engines are coupled to the AC generators to produce electricity. Conclusion: This mode is regarded as
eco-friendly because if the methane resulting from
anaeorobic digestion of cow dung while composting is
allowed to escape to atmosphere, it would add to the
accumulative green house gases but when burnt it produces
carbon dioxide which results in the abatement of climatic
changes. The unit being set up at Ludhiana, if
successful, would lead to setting up many similar units
in other towns of Punjab. The experiment being carried
out at Ludhiana is thus a trend-setter. |
Echo of ecosystem “Environmental awareness”. This is a complete sentence. It is also a subject in itself. May it be environmental education or getting educated about environment, the fact remains that there persists a new-born consciousness about this phenomenon and also a concern the way environment is getting polluted and prostituted. May it be the living or the dead, biotic, or abiotic. All affect and effect environment. What, therefore, worries man is the deteriorating quality of environment which is getting fragile and susceptible to infections (pollutants) of all kinds all over the globe. In fact, a clean environment is now a global concern. One finds mention of environment in folklore the worldover and also in the frescos which decorate the places of worship. One comes across references to environment and nature even in scriptures. From time immemorial environment has influenced and changed man as he progressed and passed through the corridor of time trying to either create environment for sustainable living or to change environment for the benefit and betterment of future generations. From the past to posterity, environment will remain intertwined with population pressures and resources. So important and imperative has become the word environment that it has been taken cognisance of even by the Supreme Court, Parliament, educational institutions and government and non-government organisations as well as the common man. It has become a subject matter of not only discussion but academics. Therefore, it was but natural for various universities to have introduced environment as a subject at the undergraduate level. A lot of literature is available: both in print and on the electronic media on the subject of environment. Several books have been penned both for target groups as well as layman. It is in this context that one finds it necessary to take notice of yet another book: Environmental Awareness, a 304-page book by R.C. Chandna, a professor and former Chairman of the Department of Geography, Panjab University, Chandigarh. It is an introductory work, as the author himself says. It presents a “capsuled overview” on the subject of environment. He echos the ecosystems’ needs and spotlights on what constitutes environment and how it gets polluted and by whom. the beauty of the book is that it encompasses the whole gamut of issues related to environment right from soil to flora and fauna, water, energy, atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrospehere, wildlife, population pressures et al. the book has a full chapter on legislations governing environment. India has some 200 laws to protect environment. But implementation is almost nil. Most relevant laws relate to the Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972, the Water Act, 1974, the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the Air Act, 1981, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and the National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995. Why environment study and understanding are important for everyone is because it directly influences every individual and society. One good the book’s author has done to readers and students of environment is the manner in which he has at the end of each section (there are 10) has cogently written “points to remember”. These points summarise the section and its chapters. These also capsule the information a reader in hurry would like to glance at about a particular section. Today environment is in
the subconscious mind of all people simply because of the
instinct for survival. Therefore, with the march of time
just as postulates, theories, paradigms and hypotheses
changed so did man’s understanding of the subject.
The manner the book is presented enables students
appearing for competitive examinations or laymen trying
to have a “feel” of the environment will find
the book interesting and informative. |
Superior hybrid of sunflower GIVING boost to the ongoing hybrid development programme at the CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, scientists here have come out with two new hybrids of sunflower and bajra. Qualitatively, both hybrids are superior to their already existing counterparts. The new sunflower hybrid, HSFH-848,bears flowers with large head size, embedded with bold seeds. It’s oil content is 40 per cent. It takes 98 days or mature. Another hybrid, HHB-117, of bajra is good for both grain and fodder purpose, for it remains green up to maturity. Dr B.L. Jalali, Director of Research, says that the new sunflower hybird is far better than the widely grown “Jawalmukhi” hybrid. The university, till recently, has evolved about 140 genetically improved varieties of various field crops, fruits and vegetables, suiting to different agro-ecological zones of Haryana. However, greater emphasis is now being laid on developing hybrids in commercially important crops. So far, the university scientists have succeeded in evolving two cotton hybrids, five bajra hybrids, two maize hybrids and two guava hybrids. The research on rice and barley hybrids is in an advanced stage. All the hybrids developed have received wide acceptability among the farmers. Dr Jalali, who is also Chairman of the University Variety Release Committee (VRC), reveals that in view of the performance of hybrid HHB-117 in field trials, the VRC has recommended the state seed sub committee to release it for general cultivation in the state. However, sunflower hybrid will be tested further on large scale, on farmer’s fields, before it is released for cultivation, he says. Dr Jalali further reveals that the VRC has also identified two varieties of vegetable crops — HT-10 of tinda and HM-346 of methi, — developed at the university. However, before these varieties are recommended for release, these would be rigorously tested for various biotic and abiotic stresses. — TNS |
| H |
Vegetable crops Cole crops Pea: — Wilt and stemfly are serious problem of field pea, hence avoid early sowing in badly infested area. Treat the seed for control of wilt and stemfly with Bavistin @ 1 g and 5 ml of chlorpyriphos mixed in 15 ml of water for 1 kg of seed. — Weeds can effectively be controlled with the use of Afalon 50 WP (Linuron) @ 500 g/acre or Stomp 30EC @ 1 litre/acre as pre-emergence application i.e. within two days of sowing. Use 150-200 litres of water of uniform spray and use flat fan/flood zet nozzle only for this purpose. Potato: —Sow potato after applying 20 tonnes of farmyard manure, 82 kg of urea, 155 kg of superphosphate and 80 kg muriate of potash per acre. Farmyard manure should be applied about 10 days before planting potato, whereas fertiliser should be applied at the time of sowing preferably in mix with soil to avoid injury to tubers. Higher doses of nutrients can be applied if soil test shows low to very low status of these nutrients. — For weed control, use Atrataf 50 WP/Atrazine @ 200 g/acre or Isoproturon 75 WP @ 500 g/acre or Stomp 30 EC @ 1 litre/acre or Sencor 70 WP (metribuzin) @ 200 g/acre as pre-emergence or spray Gramoxon @ 500-750 ml/acre upto 5-10 per cent emergence of potato crop and complete germination of weeds. Do not use Atrataf in those fields where succeeding crop is to be a cucurbit. — For the control of late blight, use selected healthy tubers for sowing. Follow high ridge method to avoid tuber infection. — Disinfect the seed tubers in 0.5 per cent solution of Agallol or 0.25 per cent Aretan by dipping for 10 minutes to control black scarf and common scab. Avoid sowing of potato in fields with high incidence of common scab. Keep the soil wet at tuberisation to minimise the scab infection. Follow high-ridge culture to avoid tuber infection. If there is a heavy shower in second or third week of October, protect the crop immediately by spraying Indofil M-45 @ 500-700 g/acre. Potato should not be grown in common scab infested fields. Onion: — Irrigate kharif planted crop once a week. Plant bulbs for seed production. Tomato: —
Progressive Farming, PAU |
 |
 |
