Bio Fertilizer Ingredients
Biopesticide formulation
(BPF) comprising easily accessible botanicals along with cow urine, was evaluated for its efficacy against insect pests of tomato crop under field. BPF gave promising results in controlling tomato fruit borers and afforded substantial yield of the produce.
The individual botanicals are not able to control crop pests, when the pest pressure is high or when there is epidemic in the field. But they can be effective as one of the components of either Integrated Pest Management (IPM) or with other control measures for pest management.
Unlike these botanicals, synthetic pesticides give instant action in controlling crop pests (exceptional cases for resistance development) along with their economical and easy access. Due to this, farmers and sometimes researchers relying on botanicals invariably discard them and switch to persistent and toxic synthetic pesticides.
Therefore, a need was felt to have a reliable biopesticide formulation (BPF), which could be applied even at the time of an epidemic, when insect or disease population is high under field conditions. The BPF was prepared and tested for its efficacy in in vitro as well as in vivo studies.
It was prepared by mixing nine natural ingredients of biobotanical
Origin with one naturally occurring mineral salt along with one animal product, in specific ratios in a liquid (also animal product). These natural products, namely onion, ginger, Ocimum, neem, etc. are reported for their
In vitro efficacy, individually; but their efficacy at field level is not reported at par with synthetic or a combination of these ingredients. Under field conditions, they are not reported to manage pests if they cross the economic threshold level (ETL) and hence are not effective for pest control at the time of the epidemic.
The BPF comprised of 12 ingredients; nine of them were of bio-botanical in origin; two were natural mineral salts and one was an animal product (cow dung) respectively, all mixed in a liquid (cow urine) which is also an
Animal product. The indigenous cow breed used for BPF ingredients was normal, healthy and milking. Fresh cow dung was taken in the morning and sieved through a muslin cloth to get its extract. The ratio and proportion of ingredients was standardized according to their economics and availability. Ratio of ingredients along with plant part used for preparing 1000 ml of BPF was standardized.
Allicin from garlic effectively controlled seed-borne Alternaria spp. in carrot, Phytophthora leaf blight of tomato and tuber blight of potato as well as Magnaporthe on rice and downy mildew of Arabidopsis. The effect of crude extracts of neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf, neem seed and garlic (Allium sativum) at concentrations ranging from 5% to 30% of the material in
100 ml of potato dextrose agar on mycelial growth of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici was assessed. All the extracts inhibited mycellial growth at various levels.
Dry neem seed extract gavel 100% inhibition of mycelial growth.
Curcuminoids, the major colouring constituents of Curcuma longa (turmeric) rhizome powder, comprise mainly three closely related curcumins (I–III). These have been tested along with the parent compounds and other extractives for insect growth inhibitory activity against Schistocerca gregaria and Dysdercus koenigii nymphs. At 20 μg/nymph, benzene extract and dibutyl curcumin-I were most active (60% inhibition) against S. gregaria, whereas at 50 μg/nymph these substances exhibited moderate growth-inhibitory activity (45%) against D. koenigii nymphs.
The biocidal properties of garlic, onion and leek are attributed to sulphur volatiles produced during degradation of Allium tissues. The primary emitted compounds are thiosulphinates and zwiebelanes mainly converted in the soil or in Allium products (extracts) to disulphides. The activities of these compounds were studied in vitro on soil pathogenic fungi and insects in order to measure their disinfection potential. These studies show a good potential for three disulphides: dimethyl disulphide, dipropyl disulphide and diallyl disulphide to inhibit several fungal species. The tomato plants grown in copper-deficient nutrient solutions showed characteristic dwarfing, involution of the leaflets, colour change and eventual necrosis. Based on its efficacy and promising results in pest control and yield of target crops, this BPF has been filed for patenting in India.