Indigenous pest management practices prevalent among hill farmers in Uttarakhand – A paper in the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge

This paper in the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge aims to describe indigenous pest management (IPM) practices being followed by farmers of Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand and their belief behind following them.With those practices, farmers would manage pests effectively without deteriorating environment. These practices could be very important if incorporated into integrated pest management research to enrich the research process and make it more relevant for the farmers. 

In Uttarakhand hills, due to the prevalence of traditional system of farming, there are many chances of finding indigenous pest management practices. The study identifies various indigenous pest management practices and their scientific basis. The methodology comprises of semi-structured interview schedule, key informant observation and focused group discussion in Gwarbhilkot and Kalaggajali villages in Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand. The documented practices were then placed before the entomologists and plant pathologists of Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar to explore the scientific rationality behind them. Some practices include -

• Setting fire to the field to destroy white grub pest after wheat harvest when the pest is at its hibernating stage was not considered a good practice by the scientists as it destroys micro-organisms as well.
• Farmers generally do not make heaps of farm yard manure (FYM) in the fields and carry properly decomposed FYM to check white grub attack. Scientists find this practice rational as white grub lays eggs in un-decomposed FYM on which early stages of white grub feeds.
• Before transplanting paddy, puddling of the soil is done to destroy insect homes by creating soil disturbance.
• To reduce attack of white grub on chilly plants, farmers while transplanting chilly put ash of cow dung, pine leaves and other plants in the holes to sterilize the plant from attack.
• Sisun or Bichhu (Urtica dioica) grass and thorny bushes of Kilmora (Berberis asiatica Roxb.) plant are placed at the mouth of mouse hole to prevent rodents from damaging the field.
• For storing green gram, a mixture of immature turmeric, dried leaves of walnut and mustard oil is used.
• The practice of deep ploughing after paddy harvest and leaving land fallow for 10-15 days was prevalent.