Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Fighting plant pests the natural way

Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE: Cultivators can ward off pest attacks on coconut and other major crops by increasing biodiversity and enhancing the fertility of the soil by using natural methods of farming.

This was the advice of organic farmers from the Tamizhaga Uzhavar Thozhilnutpa Kazhagam, while on a visit to the GRVR Farm at Vedapatti to offer their advice to participants at a training programme on organic farming.

"About 120 to 150 kilos of dried fronds and other waste fall from an average coconut palm every year," said S. R. Sundararaman, a farmer from Sathyamangalam. "It is enough to let these fronds lie where they fall, decay naturally and turn into mulch. Microbial action and earthworm activity increase in the spaces between the trees."

Decaying coconut fibres became highly porous and could absorb several times their own weight of moisture. Spaces between the fibres acted like "micro dams" that trapped and retained rainwater without allowing it to go waste.

No drought

"There is no drought if you understand the principles of organic farming. In fact, cultivation should be all about allowing bacteria, earthworms and termites to do their work and flourish in the soil," he said.

Allowing a variety of plant life to flourish on the farm ensured that there was a balance between organisms that helped crops to flourish and those that hindered normal growth. Pests would leave the crops alone and move elsewhere if farmers made the cultivated area inhospitable for pests to shelter and breed.

When plants became hardier, they would be in a better position to withstand pest attacks. "Organic farming basically depends on using natural methods to improve the health of the soil, promote growth and protect the growing crops from pests and diseases," he said.

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