BSS, Rangpur :
Farmers are reaping huge benefits from adoption of eco-friendly natural pests’ management methods like perching and light traps in farming Boro rice in Rangpur agriculture region.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers applied natural perching and light trap methods for pests’ management to get increased production of hygienic Boro rice alongside minimizing cost of insecticide.
“Farmers are reaping huge benefits from adoption of perching and light trap methods in preventing pests’ attacks during the growth of Boro rice plants this season,” Additional Director of DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md. Emdad Hossain Sheikh said.
During the current season, farmers adopted perching method on 4,24,330 hectares of Boro rice fields out of a totally cultivated land area of 5,05,235 hectares of land in all five districts of the region.
Adopting eco-friendly perching method of pests’ management, farmers set up bamboo poles or horizontal stems or branches of trees at regular intervals in their Boro rice crop fields so that pest-eating birds could easily sit or roost on those.
“Birds were seen sitting on bamboo poles, stems or tree branches, flying and eating harmful insects on growing tender Boro rice plants helping farmers combat pests’ attacks naturally without applying pesticides while farming the crop this season,” he said.
At the same time, farmers set up 7,342 light traps on their growing Boro rice fields while cultivating the crop this season across the region.
Agriculturist Rahman said the light trap method is cheap, easy to apply, very effective and environment-friendly to kill harmful pests in growing Boro rice fields to increase production of more hygienic rice.
“Farmers placed pots filled with a mixture of water and detergent under sources of light to trap harmful pests. Drawn towards the reflection of the light in the pots at night, harmful insects fall into the water and consequently die,” Hossain added.
Deputy Director of the DAE for Rangpur Agriculturist Md. Obaidur Rahman Mandal said light trap is one of the very effective tools for natural pests’ management as it traps insects, minimizes their population and saves growing crop plants.
“The DAE continues motivating farmers to use the light trap device to control pests in crop fields as it contributes to integrated pest control management reducing use of pesticides alongside increasing crop output benefiting farmers,” he said.
Talking to BSS, Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid highly lauded the DAE for popularizing adoption of the perching and light trap methods of pest management in Boro rice fields in recent years. “Being inspired by the DAE, more farmers are adopting these eco-friendly pest management methods and saving growing Boro rice plants from pests’ attacks at different stages of growth to get more rice yields,” he added.
Farmers Amirul Islam, Dulal Chandra and Manik Mian of different villages in Rangpur Sadar said adoption of perching and light trap methods helped them in pest management without using insecticides and getting increased production of Boro rice this season.
