AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center and its Bangladeshi collaboration partner, the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), are awarded for their successes in Integrated Pest Management
Integration makes winners

Eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB) is the most damaging pest of eggplants in South and Southeast Asia, causing yield loss that often exceeds 65% as the larvae feed inside the eggplant fruit, making it unmarketable and unfit for human consumption. An ecologically sound yet highly effective way out is Integrated Pest Management (IPM). For its successful development of effective and environmentally sound alternative pest management strategies in Southern Asia, AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center and its cooperation partner, the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), received the Ryutaro Hashimoto APFED Award 2008 Silver Prize for Good Practice.

The Ryutaro Hashimoto APFED Award 2008 for Good Practice was issued by the Asia-Pacific Forum for Environment and Development (APFED) at its 4th Plenary Meeting held in Davao, Philippines from 25 - 26 July 2008. It aims to promote dissemination of information on good practices towards sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region and the prize is given to organisations in recognition of practices that have made outstanding contributions in promoting environmental management and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.

Despite the importance of eggplant and the severity of the pest problem, the management practices to combat these pests have largely been limited to frequent sprays of toxic chemical pesticides, affecting the health of farmers and consumers, and damaging the environment. In Bangladesh, farmers used to spray insecticides up to 84 times during a 6-7 month cropping period.

“Our Integrated Pest Management strategy provides an opportunity for farmers to reduce pesticide use significantly. The further adoption of IPM for eggplant cultivation will help increase profits for small-scale farmers, improve public health and protect the environment”, says Jackie Hughes, Deputy Director General for Research at AVRDC—The World Vegetable Center. Farmers who adopt the new IPM strategy clearly benefit: they have lower production costs and higher net incomes compared to farmers who rely solely on pesticides for insect control.

The project was implemented in 2000-2006 in collaboration BARI and was funded by the Department for International Development (DFID),UK.“The strategy had three major components: It consisted of weekly excision and destruction borer infested shoots and fruits, of using pheromone lures to trap male EFSB moths, and of withholding chemical pesticides to allow natural enemies to control the pest. In collaboration with BARI and various national research partners in India we have trained farmers through field days and demonstrations on the proper use of sex pheromone traps and methods of sanitation”, says Srinivasan Ramasamy, entomologist at the Center.

The interest for this alternative pest management technology in the region is great. Through its Regional Center for South Asia (RCSA), which was opened in India in 2006, AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center continues to encourage the application of EFSB IPM technology. The technology is currently being promoted among tribal farmers in Jharkhand state in India. It is one component of the broader range of IPM activities in the recently launched project “Improving vegetable production and consumption for sustainable rural livelihoods in Jharkhand and Punjab”, supported by Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), India.