Food poison

BENZENE hexachloride and malathionshowed up in vegetables from theAzadpur wholesale vegetable market,prompting the ministry of agriculture toorder the phasing out of chemical pesticides in vegetable farming. The levelswere found to be below the humantolerance level, but the question thathaunted the ministry was: why takea chance? Their long-term accumulation can impair kidney functionsand blood circulation. Deadly residueshad earlier been found in rice grains,vegetables and fruits sold in mostmarkets in Delhi.

The ministry had launched theIntegrated Pest Management (IMP) programme last year for cotton and ricecrops, which has now been extended tovegetables and fruits. The programmeuses vario -us methods of "total cropmanagement techniques" in which theemphasis is on the use of genuine seedsand disease-free planting materials, better varieties and largescale use of naturalpredators of pests.

In fact, pests had become resistant tothe drugs, and the pesticides were decimating friendly insects and the predators feeding on the pests.