Assessment of indigenous technical knowledge on uses of Alliums in plant protection

Abstract

Traditional indigenous pest and disease management practices followed by Indian farmers were environment friendly, economical and largely non-hazardous to human health. Nevertheless, indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides in today’s modern agriculture has resulted in health hazards, development of insecticide resistance in pests and environmental pollution. Among the traditional practices, the extracts of onion and garlic were effective in indigenous pest management practices. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to document and validate the Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) on ethnobotanical uses of onion and garlic in crop protection practices. The validation of the ITKs was done with 30 experts from the relevant scientific field. Present study revealed that among 36 formulations which were measured on 150 validity score, 30.56% had the validity score above 120, whereas 61.11% scored between 100 to 120. These results showed their wider applicability as pesticide and fungicide to protect various vegetables, cereals, pulses and commercial crops from biological stresses. In vitro standardization of formulation is necessary for effective application on targeted pest. Popularization and commercialization of these ITKs can be a boost for residue free food production.