Eco-friendly 'light-trap' cuts use of pesticides

Light-trap and parching, environmentally sound methods for controlling harmful insects, especially Brown Plant Hopper, are helping farmers in different areas of Rajashahi during the current Aman season.

The light-trap method is getting popular among the local farmers for its cheaper price and better feasibility in pest management on transplanted Aman paddy.

Farmers set a light source placing a pot filled with the mixture of water and detergent right under it. Light attracts the insects and the mixture kills them when they fall into it.

Farmers of the 10 unions of Godagari Upazila, those who used this method, did not have to use any pesticides this year as they did not found any insect on their paddy fields, said the upazila agrticulture officer.

The Department of Environment has been promoting this programme throughout the district for the last few years to distract farmers from using chemical pesticides which causes serious damage to the environment.

Hazrat Ali, deputy director of DoE, Rajashahi, said, "During September and October every year, farmers face serious pest attacks and they have to spend more to get rid of this. With light -trap and parching methods, we can find the culprit insect and take proper the pest control measure, which  is much cheaper and environment friendly."

It has reduced indiscriminate use of pesticides by 50 percent and eventually resulted in increased production than the previous year.

Nabibur Rahman, 43, a farmer at Kachua village in Tanore upazila, said, "I cultivated high yielding flood tolerant Aman paddy on 68 decimals of land this year and got 25 kg of paddy in each decimal. It was only 18 kg last year."