Birds sitting on a bamboo pole in an Aman paddy field to catch pests in Jaigirhat area of Mithapukur upazila under Rangpur district — FE Photo RANGPUR, Sept 24: The use of eco-friendly perching method to control detrimental insects in paddy fields in the district has proved successful.
Sources said farmers are using this perching method instead of pesticides.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Rangpur, there are two types of perching methods: Dead Perching and Live Perching.
The dead perching involves burying one dead branch or T-shaped bamboo pole for every 5 percent of the land.
This involves burying six dead branches or T-shaped bamboo poles per bigha (for 33 percent of the land).
On the other hand, for live perching, immediately after planting paddy seedlings, one Dhaincha tree for every 5 per cent of the land should be set up for bird perching.
For this, six or seven Dhaincha trees have to be planted on per bigha (for 33 percent of the land).
Different types of birds sit on those branches or sticks set up in the field and catch pests, larva and eggs of the insects for eating.
While visiting different areas, this FE correspondent found eco-friendly perching method used in many Aman paddy fields to protect the crops from pest attacks.
Jashim Mia, a farmer of Jaigirhat area of Mithapukur upazila, told The Financial Express that he has already used the dead perching method on 3 bighas of Aman fields and begun to get satisfactory results.
He does not have any need to use pesticide as the pests are killed naturally. As a result, he can save a significant amount of money that he had to spend for buying pesticides, he added.
Halim, a peasant of Vendabari area of Pirganj upazila, said with the encouragement of the field-level officials from the DAE he uses the perching method every year on 4 bighas of land and gets notable benefits.
If the perching method is used in paddy fields, it works even without pesticides. He has to spray insecticides only once so that the few remaining insects in the field can be destroyed.
Talking to The Financial Express, deputy director of the DAE, Rangpur Agriculturist Md Reaz Uddin said, 'Majra' (Stem borer) insect is the biggest enemy of paddy. Sitting on a branch of a tree or a T-shaped bamboo pole, each bird can consume a lot of insects per day. Consequently, the pests cannot cut paddy husks, resulting in good production. DAE officials motivate the growers and provide necessary assistance to use this eco-friendly method instead of using harmful pesticides.
He also hoped that in the future, more farmers will cultivate their crop lands using eco-friendly perching methods to get more yield at low cost and to get an environment-free from the harmful effects of pesticides.
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