It’s here: Pesticide-free cauliflower, cabbage

Connoisseurs of gobi Manchurian and salad lovers can thank scientists at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru.

After a decade of research, scientists have managed to produce pesticide-free cauliflower and cabbage, two vegetables are known to carry the highest percentage of chemicals.

Using neem extract azadirachtin in the form of pellets, scientists have not only grown cabbage and cauliflower with ‘negligible’ pesticide residue but also dramatically slashed the cost of growing these vegetables. According to IIHR scientists, cabbage and cauliflower require the highest amount of pesticide for cultivation.

“These vegetables attract three pests — diamondback moth, head borer and aphids,” explained Dr NR Prasanna Kumar, a scientist at IIHR.

“Farmers use up to 25 rounds of pesticide spray to safeguard these vegetables. These toxic chemicals remain in the vegetable even after 35 to 45 days of harvest, thus jeopardising lives of the general public who consume them.”

But IIHR scientists made a breakthrough; neem came to their rescue.

“Neem seed powder was converted into pellets to retain the effectiveness of the organic component,” explained D Prasanna. “The best part is that these pellets give their best toxicity when mixed with water and no other organic solution. Farmers need to rinse these pellets in water overnight and spray it in the morning after filtering the dust.”

He said that a mere 6 kg of pellets can control pests in an acre; and unlike the 25 rounds of synthetic pesticide, the neem solution needs to be sprayed only 8 times.

“While synthetic pesticides kill farmer-friendly worms in the soil besides degrading the quality of soil and vegetable, neem enhances the fertility of the soil,” Dr Prasanna added.

Scientists have also carried out residual tests on cabbage wherein the results were negligible. The cost-effective formulation has also cut down on investment by farmers considerably.

“While a farmer spends about Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh per acre with synthetic pesticides, the same can be managed with Rs 10,000 to
Rs 15,000 using neem seed powder pellets. Further, if they have neem trees in their fields, it would even be cheaper,” said Dr KN Jagadish, Assistant Chief Technical Officer in one of the IIHR field stations.

The field trials using neem pellets were carried out in Tumakuru, where each cabbage weighed half-a-kilo more than what was grown using synthetic pesticides.

Prasanna Kumar said their biggest concern was the growing popularity of these vegetables in a variety of fast-foods and raw salads.

“Not many are aware of the quantity of pesticide used to cultivate these vegetables. Hence we targeted at cutting down on these toxic chemicals and help people consume more organic and chemical-free vegetables. Finally, we have been able to deliver it. The technology is now available for anybody to cultivate these vegetables,” he said.