New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS): The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to undertake research on alternative fumigation technologies for safe and sustainable management of storage pests in wheat and rice, an official statement said on Thursday.
India's critical grain reserves have relied heavily on aluminium phosphide (ALP) and malathion for post-harvest pest control.
However, widespread and repeated use has led to severe consequences, including pest resistance frequencies reaching 72-100 per cent in key Indian states and escalating fumigation cycles that drive up operational costs.
Furthermore, current chemical methods pose significant respiratory threats to workers and long-term ecological risks.
This initiative seeks to directly address these challenges by standardizing the commercial use of nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), and a synergistic combination of CO2 and phosphine.
Three major trials will be conducted in Phase-I -- Nitrogen gas (>99 per cent) fumigation for effective management of storage pests in wheat stored in metal silos; combined carbon dioxide and phosphine gas fumigation for managing/controlling storage pests in wheat and rice stored in bags at FCI/CWC warehouses; and Carbon dioxide fumigation for managing/controlling storage pests in wheat and rice in bags enclosed in hermetic covers.
Following the two-year Phase-I pilot, Phase-II will expand into a one-year multi-location trial across varied agro-climatic zones to establish region-specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The initiative aims to develop scientifically validated, scalable and sustainable alternatives to conventional chemical fumigation, addressing concerns related to increasing pest resistance, occupational exposure, environmental impacts and fumigant residues, said the statement.
The research study is supported by the Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution. The two-year Phase-I project will be implemented by ICAR–Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana.
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