The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Moving towards chemical-free farming

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Thursday, Nov 06, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Moving towards chemical-free farming

Staff Reporter

— Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

Sultan Ahmed Ismail, founder director of Ecoscience Research Foundation, explaining the importance of different plants to school students at the Organic Corner of the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre on Wednesday.

CHENNAI: With worms and special manure and pest control plants, no chemicals are needed in a garden.

To showcase and explain this to school students and visitors, the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre opened an organic corner on its premises on Gandhi Mandapam Road on Wednesday.

“We have put so many chemicals in the earth, but with the rich ecosystem that India has, is this all really required?” Sultan Ahmed Ismail, founder director of the Ecoscience Research Foundation, which holds on to the slogan ‘Reworm the World’, questioned.

To a first group of school children visiting the organic corner, Dr. Ismail explained how worms could do the work in a garden.

“There are 500 types of worms indigenous to India. This earthworm cleans the soil and helps to form compost that will be fertile for plants to grow,” he said, while holding a thin, dark brown worm in his hand.

Three different types of plants would grow in the organic corner: medical plants, pest control plants and manure plants.

“With the right plants, it is not necessary to use pesticide, because certain plants will chase the pests away,” Dr. Ismail said.

One example is the ‘Calotrophis Gigantes,’ a plant that chases pests away and could also relieve pain in the limbs.

“In Indian culture, plants might still be neglected even if they are said to be important. Because many of these plants are so common, people don’t relate them to something important. So for the plant to be respected, often a religious meaning is given to it,” Dr. Ismail said.

The first plants were planted in the organic corner a month ago. Eventually, 50 different plants would be grown there, next to compost and worming areas. “Students and visitors can come here to see how organic farming is done, and to see that they can do it themselves at home on a small-scale. Kitchen waste can be used to compost and make manure,” scientific assistant at the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre B. David Ponnudurai said.

“We want to create an informal, out of classroom situation for the students to learn by doing,” Executive Director of the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre P. Iyamperumal said.

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