The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Farm college gets pesticide residue lab

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Farm college gets pesticide residue lab

Staff Reporter

Sophisticated facility set up with the support of ICAR

Public can get several items tested for residues
Strategies to minimise residue load developed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A sophisticated laboratory to monitor pesticide residue in biotic and abiotic components of the environment will be inaugurated at the Kerala Agricultural University’s College of Agriculture, Vellayani, near here, on Thursday.

Being set up with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) support, the laboratory will be able to make crucial contributions in the wake of growing complaints that extensive and indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides in agriculture and public health activities are leading to widespread contamination of food and environment as well as causing severe health problems.

Scientists at the college say the facility has been selected as the zonal laboratory to assist the five pesticide monitoring laboratories in the southern States under a Central scheme on monitoring pesticide residues at the national level, funded by the Union Department of Agriculture and Cooperation. Modern analytical instruments that cost Rs. 1 crore will be given to the laboratory every year as part of the scheme.

Vice-Chancellor of the university K.R. Vishambharan told The Hindu here that the official agencies as well as the public could test a host of items, such as vegetables, fruits, fish, water and soil, for chemical residues at the labo ratory. While the testing was done free of cost for official agencies, the public had to pay a fee. Thomas George of the Department of Entomology of the college says the fee is being charged in accordance with the nature of the chemical to be tested. Head of the department S. Naseema Beevi says the facilities at the laboratory can be used to monitor chemical residues at very minute levels, such as part per million and part per billion.

She says the ICAR started the All-India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on pesticides residue way back in 1984-85 with a view to develop protocols for the safe use of pesticides. The project was later re-designated the All-India Network Project (AINP) on pesticide residues.

The university’s scientists have fixed “safe waiting periods” of recommended pesticides in vegetables, spices and fruit crops, after the inception of the project. Strategies to minimise the excessive load of pesticide residues in edible commodities have also been developed and recommended to the farmers, Dr. Naseema Beevi says.

Dr George says the scientists have been monitoring residual chemicals in vegetables and fish in select landing points in the State. Tests are also being conducted regularly on groundwater and well-water samples.

Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Rathnakaran will inaugurate the laboratory on Vegetable, fodder and orchid varieties developed by the university will be released and bee-keeping training and marketing centres inaugurated at the function. The e-newsletter of the Agricultural Marketing Virtual University will also be released.

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