Pests cause untold harm, but using strong poisons to eliminate
them can result in irrevocable damage to the environment. This,
apart from the ill effect on our
health and the ecological system we live in, makes it unacceptable.
With urbanisation gathering momentum, in the country there are
a host of new situations facing the pest control specialist.
Public health challenges caused by major diseases like malaria,
filarial, dengue and even plague are directly linked to pests
like the mosquito and rat.
If the menace of rats is high in your home, one natural solution
to drive them away is rearing a cat. Then, there is no need
of using any rat poison since the rats are eaten or driven
away by the cat.
In a similar way, Pest Control (India) Limited's Bio-Control
Research
Laboratories (BCRL) has been striving to pass on nature
friendly or biological control solutions to Indian farmers to
contain the pest menace to their crops. General Manager of
BCRL, Dr K P Jayanth, told bangalorebest.com that
to contain the insects that attack cotton, paddy, coffee, tea
and other crops, BCRL has found a natural anti-pest like Trichogramma
species. Trichogramma species are egg parasitoids. These
minute wasps (8 to 10 can sit on a pin head!) search and destroy
the eggs of pests, thus preventing potential crop damage. Several
species of Trichogramma are mass produced at BCRL in RT Nagar
and supplied as "Tricho Card" with complete instructions.
Each "Tricho Card" contains 20,000 parasitoids. It can be cut
into small pieces and distributed in the field. Two to five
Tricho Cards may be used per acre.
Trichogramma may be used in a variety of crops including sugarcane,
cotton apple, tomato, groundnut, sunflower, cereals and vegetables.
Trichogramma is just one example. BCRL has developed many such
natural pest control parasites for farmers.
According to Dr Jayanth, PCI has established a new laboratory
with all
facilities for its BCRL on Bangalore-Doddaballapur Road near
Yelahanka and by February end the BCRL is to be shifted from
the "congested" city office to manufacture its products on a
large scale. Biological control involves use of a specially
chosen organism to control a specific pest. This chosen organism
might be a predator, a parasite, or cause a disease which will
attack the harmful insect. The use of focussed attack agents
means that side effects are eliminated, Dr Jayanth says.
PCI was established by Nalkur Sripad Rao in 1954. It has more
than 80 branches all over India. It's head office is in Mumbai.
PCI's pest control services: Agriculture pest control
services like field piper service, termiseal, fumigation, aircraft
fumigation, PestSeal, Sterifume, vector control, weed control,
marine pest control, carpet treatment.
PCI's products: Pestseal, Pestseal Aerosol, Trubble-Gum,
Roban, Termiseal, Pest-O-Flash, and other industrial products.
Some of these pest control products can also be used as domestic
pest control devices.
Any enquiries, contact Giridhar Pai, the in-charge of Bangalore
branch of PCI at:
Address:
Pest Control India Ltd,
105/1, Infantry Road, Bangalore.
Phone: 333 2337, 559 2560
|  |
|
|
|
8:49:44 PM 
