Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The alternatives to pesticides include plant breeding for resistance, biological con-
trol, microbial pesticides, botanical pesticides, and IPM (Mackay 1993). Application of
composted yard waste has also been used as a way of controlling pests. These methods
are becoming increasingly popular and often are safer than traditional pest control
methods.
1.4.1 Pest Control: A Changing Concept
To minimize the risks posed by the indiscriminate and intensive use of the chemical pes-
ticides, most of the developed and developing countries applied the concept of IPM to
control pests.
IPM, the internationally acclaimed solution to indiscriminate use of pesticides, has been
declared as one of the government policies in sustainable development of agriculture.
IPM was adopted as a policy to control pests by various world governments during the
1970s and 1980s. Since then, there have been numerous success stories of successful IPM
programs around the world. Table 1.5 shows that IPM strategies are a key component in
reducing the amount of pesticides in some developing countries. IPM combines a judi-
cious use of chemicals with various other control strategies. There are, however, many
constraints to its adoption (Bottrell 1987).
1.4.2 Pesticide Alternatives
Pesticides cause many problems. Therefore, developing and applying nonpesticide meth-
ods as alternatives to chemical control of plant diseases and pests has become the global
trend. In recent years, new classes of insecticides have been marketed, none of which
TABLE 1.5
Examples of Pesticide Amounts Reduced Due to IPM in Some Developing Countries
Country
Findings
Source
Indonesia
Application of IPM techniques saved about $1200 a year
per farm through reduced pesticide use
ADB (1999)
India
Decreased conventional pesticide use by 50% on average.
Incomes increased by Rs. 1000-1250/ha, and rice yields
increased by 250 kg/ha
FAO (2002)
Sri Lanka
Reduced insecticide use (from 3 applications to 1
application per season) and increased yields (by 12%-44%
for rice) were observed
Administration Report,
Department of
Agriculture (2002)
Developing countries
A review of 25 impact evaluation studies reported
substantial and consistent reductions in pesticide use and
convincing increase in yield due to training
Van den Berg (2004)
South America
In Argentina, IPM has reduced the number of insecticide
treatments from 2-3 per season to an average 0.3
treatments, corresponding to savings of US $1.2 million
per year in pesticides and application costs. Similarly, in
Brazil, IPM has been adopted by about 40% of soybean
farmers, which has resulted in savings of over US $200
million annually due to reduced use of insecticides, labor,
machinery, and fuel
Iles and Sweetmore
(1991)
Source:
Modified from Atreya, K., Sitaula, B. K., Johnsen, F. H., and Bajracharya R. M. 2011. Continuing issues in
the limitations of pesticide use in developing countries.
J. Agric. Environ. Ethics
24, 49-62.
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