RAJSHAHI, Aug 31, 2018 (BSS)-Scientists and other researchers concerned
viewed eco-friendly rat management can be vital means of protecting many
beneficial insects together with maintaining a sound environment.
They revealed that the farmers destroy various species of the insects
during the time of eliminating the destructive ones due to lack of adequate
knowledge in this regard.
The farmers conventionally apply rodenticide killing many non-target
beneficial animals and birds. They were addressing a daylong farmers training
on the issue of eco-friendly integrated pest management.
Vertebrate Pest Management Division (VPMD) of Bangladesh Agriculture
Research Institute (BARI) organized the training at its local station of On
Farm Research Division (OFRD) here on Thursday.
National Agricultural Technological Project under the Bangladesh
Agriculture Research Council financially supported the programme with the
main thrust of disseminating modern practical knowledge among the farmers so
that they can manage rats in a eco-friendly integrated way.
VPMD Principal Scientific Officer Dr Shah Alam, Principal Investigator of
the project Dr ATM Hasanuzzaman, OFRD Senior Scientific Officer Nur-E-Alam
Siddiqui and its Scientific Officer Jahedul Islam conducted the training
sessions as resource persons disseminating their expertise on the issue.
Dr Shah Alam says integrated rodent management in wheat and rice faring
through eco-friendly control techniques is very important in order to address
the problem of food grain loss caused by rat.
VPMD has been implementing a project titled “Eco-friendly Integrated Rat
Managment” in order to address the problem.
He said the project encourages the farmers towards using trap with
applying a little amount of rodenticide to control rat in environmental
friendly means only when necessary. If this method is practiced properly,
about cent percent desired result can be attained.
Dr Alam said a comprehensive approach needs to be adopted to conserve the
beneficial insects in the greater interest of maintaining biodiversity and
ecological balance.
The new rat control method is helpful to control rat without killing and
injuring beneficial animals and insects.
Dr ATM Hasanuzzaman told the farmers that rat is a serious threat to
agriculture of the country. It causes wheat damage up to 77,000 tonnes and
rice 80,000 tonnes every year. The total loss of rice and wheat may be up to
Tk 700 crore. Not only field crop, it causes considerable losses to store
products.
He opined that not a single method is effective for rat management.
Integration of several techniques can be more effective for rodent control
successfully.
Nur-E-Alam Siddiqui said this new rat control method is eco-friendly and
farmer can be economically benefited by using the techniques.
Another salient feature of the project is the farmers can control rat
successfully in entire field on a community approach basis. This is really a
useful and efficient method.
Highly rodent affected farmers of rice and wheat crops can get good
results by using the method.
Jahedul Islam says all insects are not harmful for the crops but the
chemical pesticides or insecticides are more or less dangerous for both human
health and other beneficial insects.
He, however, says the destructive as well as the injurious insects can
easily be controlled through promoting the eco- friendly method of using
organic fertilizer and indigenous insecticides instead of chemical ones.