In the last few decades, pest-control measures have ended up taking a severe toll on the environment with their penetrative ability to contaminate not just the farm produce but also the groundwater table.
While many farmers across the country are now familiar with the dangerous consequences of using chemical fertilisers and pesticides, there is a significant percentage that continues to partake in the conventional mode of pesticide-supplemented farming.
However, one paddy farmer from Elappulli village under the Chittoor block of Palakkad district has devised a low-cost & eco-friendly pest control solution that doesn’t just rid the farms off pests and insects but does so in a safe and sustainable manner—through the power of the Sun!
The solar-powered light trap is a creation of Chandran, who had been experimenting with different eco-friendly techniques for pest control as directed by the agriculture department, in his 6-acre paddy field, reports Mathrubhumi, a local Malayalam daily.
Comprising of a bowl on a tripod, an LED bulb and a solar panel, the contraption’s modus operandi is interestingly simple yet impressive for its cost-effectiveness.
The bulb emits blue light from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., which attracts the insects to the device. Right below the bulb is a poison trap that not only catches these pests but ensures instant death as well.
Functioning only up to those night hours when insect attack is observed at its peak, the light trap’s mechanism stops working post 10 p.m. and has been put together in a way that does not harm beneficial insects.
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Functioning automatically with the help of solar energy, Chandran’s innovation has the prowess of easily replacing chemical pesticides that are extremely detrimental to our environment.
Eliminating excessive expenditure for pesticides, this technique is now available to farmers across Elappulli, who can set up more than one trap in the farm or relocate the device every day to reduce the occurrence of pests. One only needs to change the poison trap in the bowl once in two days.
According to Rajitha, a Field Assistant at the Elappulli Krishi Bhavan, the trap is eco-friendly and is helpful to reduce use of chemicals in farming.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
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