The Central Tuber Crops Research Institute here has developed a bio-pesticide from tapioca for effectively tackling pests destroying vegetable and fruit plants.
The pilot application of the pesticide in banana plantations here has been found highly successful and it could be considered a major step forward in avoiding ill-effects of chemical pesticides, especially in view of growing worldwide demand for organic products, a senior scientist at the CTCRI said.
The research in this direction was conducted by a team led by Dr C A Jayaprakas, Principal Scientist & Head, Division of Crop Protection.
“We isolated the insecticidal principles from the leaves and tuber rinds of tapioca (cassava) and developed the bio-pesticides which could act against noxious insect pests afflicting field crops,” Jayaprakas said.
Tapioca is an important tuber crop cultivated over 80 countries and its tubers are used as a staple or subsidiary food.
After harvest, large quantities of the biomass such as cassava leaf (5-7t -ha ) and tuber rinds (15-23 per cent of the tuber) are generally thrown as waste. Leaf of cassava is a rich source of protein and other nutrients, nevertheless, the toxic principles in it is a constraint to commercially exploit this as cattle feed or allied purposes.
The bio-pesticides from cassava could be used for management of borer pests like pseudostem weevil (Odoiporus longicollis) in banana, red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) and other borer pests of tree and fruits crops.
A formulation has also been made against sucking pests like mealy bugs, aphids and leaf eating caterpillars.
With the financial support of Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), Kerala Government and the Life Sciences Research Board of the Government of India, a pilot plant for the extraction of bio-pesticide from tapioca leaves has been commissioned at CTCRI for isolation of bio-active principles from cassava.
The technical support for fabrication of the pilot plant was given by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre under ISRO here.
The Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA), an NGO here, and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kasaragod have taken up a programme for the management of pseudostem weevil by using the bio-pesticides.
Over 30,000 banana plants are being raised in three districts of Kerala–Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram and Kasaragod–with the treatment of bio-pesticides and the crop is now ready for harvest.
The plants, where bio-pesticides were treated, were found to be free from pests while heavy causalities were observed on the untreated plants.
PTI