Parmar, B S

Sahrawat, K L

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PLANT PRODUCTION AND PLANT PROTECTION CHEMICALS SCOPE OF FERTILIZER-PESTICIDE MIXTURES 1>1" the . modnn :,[rategy �or agric ulture: :\'hcr.e maxJrnum output per umt area per umt tune IS the immed iate nef'u, the role of plant production and protection chemicals needs no el1lpha&i�. Constituting the plant prodllction chemicals, not only the major nutrients hut also the microl1u[ricnts a:'Sllrnc critical position in intcn�iV(' agric111ture. The in\fcaseu me of it-rtili,.:;er, ha:, mhancnl the susceptibilil y of plants to diseases and pe:,t, and therefore the proper llse of plant proter:tion chemicals along 'with plant production -chemicab becomes inevitable . As such with the in­crease in the use of fertilizers, the use of pesticides is buund to ino case. The fertilizer pesticide ratio has not so far reached the optimum level and it would IJarruw down in [utm e \\ hen the usc of pesticides becomes In(lrc. K.L. SAHRAW/\T ar'] B.S. PARMAR DIVISIOI1 of Agricultural Chp'nlcals, !l1dr�:l Agrl<:u\\llr�l Research inl'tltllte. New D,,:f1i \ 2, 4-�ichlorophcnoxyac('tie acid.: glve� 'lgnificantly higher yields when used a, foliar �pJ'ay, The combinations nf fertilizers and pe,Licid('s are available a� granuIes, solution in loy\" v i�eosity solvents, emulsifiable concentratc, and even as ,,'at('r dispersibk po\\'do s. 111 [ndia recently '\'1 'S HJ'ulmtan J noecticidc� Ltd., Nl'\\' Delhi and the Fertilizer Cornor;1.tion of India 1 ha,"c collabor�ted to manufactlll'e mixtures of urea and DDT. Use of fertilizer-pe�ticide mixtures has a great scope in agriculmre but there arC' a number of problems associated ,�i(h their usc: and a F',,' of these 3.re enume­rated below. Compatibility of fertilizer \\'[lh pc,tiridc limits the number of combinations, i}l1 fertilizer; cannot he made in mixture with a number 01 pesllcidrs e.g., chlori-Fertilizer Pesticide Mixtures nated hydrocarbons like DDT, BHC, aldrin, etc., rannot Boil1 the fertilizers and pesticides are costly inputs; be mixed with or formulatt'd \, ilt> ,11h,aline or physiologi-the pesticides being (ootlier because of their imported cally alkaline fertilizers becdlbe �ueh mixtUles result characier and dI'3o high co�t of production. The eco- in the hydrol) tic breakdown of the-Ole iGs('etieides. We nomy in the usc '(-Jf'Jlhc,e chemIcal" will be very much have to take imo consideration the propcnin, 0 r both a}!pn:ciatcd. Recelltl;;, the usc 0[' fertilizer-pesticide fertilizers and pf'sticidt'r:;, their l}l<)ck or .Inir.m and form Hti.x(llr(:'$ for their ef1icicllt and economic usc has focused or the fonnul,ttinn. 11iC att('ntinll of "arinu, workers in the fieln. The 1i1',1 Sometime, the crop rna) require the pesl icides and attC'lnpt ill thi, dirc( lioll lI1dY be traced back to 1901, lIot the iCrtiliz('r a'1d vice Y(T'a. In both these cases i� h<:n in Fra nce a patent wa� granted for the mixture the mixtures may neither be an cconumilal proposition of f(�rtilizer and pest icide . Since then a number of nor safe. This require, therefore th(' surve-y and fore-patents have covered the efficient combinations of cast of the fertilizer needs of the cmp� and their smcepti-fertilizers and p('�ticides. Mo<;tly the chlorinated hydro- bility to diseases or pests before recommt'nJing different (,H'bon group or inr.,ecti('l(ks like DDT,--BHe,- chlordallc,--- 111i,;t1l1'cs· it)!' eli IfcrCl1t crr'p� tlnd('r ditrn (n( agrrl-dill1a.tic hepfachlor, aldrin and dieldrin have bcen u<;cd in �ll(h conditiom. c'lmbinalilJI1s. .\h,o, somctimes fungicides and hcr- It is not ah':a> '> \-0 Y C<1,Y tn obtain a llr;ifonn mixture bicides used in combination with lcrlilizf'fs give specta- of krtilizer'r \\ ith p('sticide� beld.U'e ill" the: �rnaH am()ul1t� ell 1ar result,. The,e mixtures especially the mixtures of the la (ter ft'qllireclto be added in large aDlount;; of the. of fungicid('s and hrrbicidcs with ficrlilizers as l;')liar fonnt'r. This ab, niakc; it rather difEcult to make �play have <Jrnpk scope in dry land farming, where qoil guarantees of the pr,)portion� uf th", comp'-,ncnts of application of fertilizers cannot he useful. Also, the $uch mixtures ann 111,,> thus afk, t tL� commercial knilizcr urea c')lllhinc'<l wIlh h('rbicid('� likc 2, l-D valUcs of -the produl'L India.n Farmin..g TABLE J EFFECT UF 'INSECTICIDE APPLIED WITH S fA.RTER FERTILIZER ON ROOT \\ ORM CO:.'-l'TROL OF CORN Treatment Rate of inudi- Lod�ng at 'Yleld·of cldes ibf acre harvest bushel! acre (4iP anglo) -----FertilIZer alone 30 0 71 3 F ertili�er + aldnn J) o 2') 9 9 93.0 lJ) o 50 11.8 104.5 IiI) I 00 8 6 107 0 FeJ't.h:zer + heptachlor 1) o 25 10.6 104 0 li) 0.50 3'.S 110.0 Residual Eft'eets , ,Sometimes these, broad spectrum persistent insecti­cides can have far-r�aching effects on beneficial arthro­pQds which may not be the immediate targets of the pesticides. For instance population. balance between preaaceou"- and deleterious-feeding insects can" be very much altered by chlorinated hydrocarbon in­secticides and this may have its side effects on soil structure and possIbly soil fertility. So the residual effects of these pesticides are to be criticallL examined,_ �efoi� using such combinations. These residues should 11:Ot persi�t much to disturb the biology of the soil e.g, DDT is known for its persistence ,and BHC imparts musty odour when used on food crops. , The combination should. be nominally persi'ltent and should -not impart �ny baed ql;lality to the crops, due to residual effects. • . We h�ve to consider the morphology of the insect to be contrqlled, its stage of development and intensity of infe'statioll before recommending such combinations with regard to the amount of insecticide selected to be applif'd in the mixtures. The major difficulty is. faced in the mode of applica­tion lof these mixtures. While fertilizers may give best results when applied in soils in bands� such informatIOn as" :l'tgard to combinati-ons of fertilizers and pesticides is scanty and fragmentary. However, placement below the roots of the plants of the mixture may not give protection to the roots. Foliar application of combi­nations of fertilizers with fungicides or herbicides seems to be the most ('fticient use of both fertilizers and pesticides. Keeying in v�� 1h� a bov� m�n tiQ�e(Lp!:Qblems and others it 1S easy to add the desired amounts of pesticides to fertilizers and use them whenever and wherever required. The systemic pesticides have a promising future in such combinations. Nitrogenous and potassic solutions with fungicides and herbicides specially made up for the crop concerned show promise. Although much critical research work has not been done ""ith such mixtures, these would definitely be an economical corrollary in dry land farming ar�as, where AU§-Ilst 1971 thes,· maj he applictl jl<, folia!" "'pl ar. V\'" lIe-cd thorough �tudics and field trials before recommending their use to farmers. These mixtures, no doubt will save on transport and labour application cost. An excellent example of the use of such combinations i� shown by the work of Apple (1957). I-Ic'found the c.ombinations of insecticides (aldrin and heptachlor) with �tarter fertIlizer not only to be effective in the control of root-worm of corn but also increase the crop yields and reduce lodging. His data are shown in Table I. ---- �---- � -----�---- ---.- --CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22 FORAGE LEGUME FOR ARID ZONE liked by sheep and cattle and not by goats. Sheep liked to eat the pods in preference to leaves. Stems were ungrazed. Cattle would eat the entire plant. The dry matter content of leaf, stem and pod of the plant at the podding stage \\as 19, 21 and 22 per cent resp,eetively. The crude protein content wa� 17 3, I 8.1" and 23.4 per 'cent in the If'af, stem and pod respectively. Self-regeneration under pastoral condition. Dohcvs lab lab var lignosus once established in sandy or sandy loam soil of rile arid zone could propagate itslelf by self seeding provided the crop was utilised moderately and grazing or cutting was done in autumn (September-Octo bel ) only. Light harrowing between the rows in the next season during monsoon ensures b('tter germination of seeds. Thl" ballar plants norI1').ally continued to glOw for tv,o years and as �uch it wa" das<;ed a;, a biennial crop. But there were some hardy plants which could continue to grow for several years also and �dection of these plants for their drought hardiness may be effective. Seed production and viability. Ballar crop yields abou t a quintal of seed per hectare in two three pickings, in the first year during the months of November-December. Seed production is reduced by half if the crop is utiliz('d for grazing or cutting. The seeds remain viable in storage for a number of years. Diseases and pests. Although root rot, rust, anthra­cnose and die back diseases and caterpillar grass hopper and aphid pests have been reported from elsewhere, no serious pests or diseases has been ob�erved so far in this crop under arid and semi-arid conditions of Rajasthan. Insect pests may, however, be controlled by spraying of Dimecron emulsion. 29 

Plant production and plant protection chemicals. scope of fertilizer-pesticide mixtures

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Plant production and plant protection chemicals. scope of fertilizer-pesticide mixtures

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