Kerala gets cautious

Endosulfan poisoning in Kasaragod district has made the Kerala government cautious in its approach to use of pesticides. Agriculture minister M Retnakaran recently announced that the ban on extremely and moderately hazardous pesticides in Kasaragod will be extended to Idukki district. The news augurs well for Idukki, known for its cardamom and tea plantations.

Pesticide-rich food

THE country’s regulators have failed to check the flow of pesticides into the food chain, suggests a monitoring report of the Department of Agriculture and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, the country’s premier institute. Fruits, vegetables, poultry and milk are all laced with high pesticide residues —much above the maximum residue limits (MRL) set by the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of 1954. Samples of Amul milk collected from Ahmedabad, for instance, had the highest traces of chlorpyriphos, a known carcinogen that can also cause neural disorders.

Another Kasaragod

Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa in December announced that his government would consider banning endosulfan. The highly toxic pesticide is banned in over 70 countries.

State of endosulfan

It is called the mango city. But of late, Muthalamada panchayat in Kerala’s Palakkad district has gained notoriety for excessive use of endosulfan in its mango orchards. Its effect is showing on people living there.

Endosulfan sufferers don't count

NARAYANA Vokalliga from Belur village in Kasaragod breathed his last on November 20 just as his son was explaining how his father had suffered from exposure to endosulfan for 30 years. The former employee of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala used to spray the toxic pesticide manually in the corporation’s cashew plantations at Nanjamparamba estate.

Bee colonies collapse

Honey bees are the most valuable pollinators of crops. In the US, the value of bees as pollinators is estimated at $15-$20 billion annually.

Letter

Tango with nature

Pesticides linked to neuro-disorder

Here is a reason why people should eat organically grown food. A study in the US has linked attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) in children to pesticide residues in commercially grown fruits and vegetables they consume. Till now the disorder was either labelled as a hereditary disease or linked to exposure to tobacco and alcohol before birth.

EU rejects Indian grapes

Vineyard owners of Maharashtra who export grapes are worried. The Euro-pean Union rejected their table grape consignments in mid-April as they were found containing traces of chlormequat chloride, a plant growth regulator. The export of table grapes (these are consumed directly unlike grapes that go into wine making) was halted immediately. The farmers are facing losses of about Rs 300 crore, media reported.

Involuntary sex change

LIBERAL use of the pesticide Atrazine in the US, China and Australia is affecting the frog population, sexually—males are turning into females.