BIO-PESTICIDES

& BIO-FERTILIZERS

Aid to Eco-friendly Farming

Dr. P.B. Dharmasena,

National Consultant (Agriculture and Water Management)
March 2016

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 Introduction

Sri Lanka’s farming systems particularly rice, other field crops and home
gardening have evolved over thousands of years including a rich array of farming
systems and the cultivated plants such as rice, grains, vegetables, fruits, spices
etc. and livestock. New crop varieties emerged formally and informally. In
addition, many farmers have selected local landraces. The long history of
cultivation, presence of cultural diversity and wide range of ecological landscape
situations present in the country have resulted in a wide variety of farming
practices in Sri Lanka.

Traditional knowledge in agriculture not documented and neglected

without adoption has been largely lost. There are still some food materials, which
are generally consumed by peasant sector remained with them. Traditional seeds
were preserved and regularly used in the past but have been replaced by
introduced varieties during last few decades. The Green Revolution led most of
our farmers to move away from traditional farming to modern agriculture.

According to International Labour Organization (ILO), every year over the

world, more than 400,000 are killed and another 35 million people are made ill
by agrochemicals. In Sri Lanka, according to a report in 2002 by the Ministry of
Health (MOH), pesticide poisoning is the seventh leading cause of death in Sri
Lanka and accounted for 4 % of all deaths in the country.
Over 2.5 million people in Sri Lanka are engaged in agriculture and pesticide is
the leading cause of death in Nuwara Eliya and Polonnaruwa Districts and the
second leading cause in Hambantota and Anuradhapura Districts. In 2002, over
17,000 cases of pesticide poisoning were reported to the MOH, out of which,
nearly 1,500 people died. These are direct poisoning and no one has investigated
indirect poisoning of these agrochemicals.
Many countries in the world have prohibited the use of pesticides. They use
organic techniques for their cultivations, instead of using pesticides. Use of
agrochemicals causes deaths from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Although it is
still debated in Sri Lanka it has been proven in other countries. Thus, it is high
time to promote the use of bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers at least in our project
areas. It cannot be expected a successful crop production from a farmer who is
not healthy and strong.

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 Bio-Pesticides & Bio-Fertilizers

Bio-pesticides are certain types of pesticides derived from such natural materials
as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. Plants are, in effect, natural
laboratories in which a great number of chemicals are biosynthesized. Many
plants have developed natural, biochemical mechanisms to defend themselves
from weed competition and animal, insect and fungal attacks. Some of these
chemicals discourage feeding by insects and other herbivores. Others provide
protection or even immunity from diseases caused by some pathogens. Still
others help plants compete for resources by discouraging competition among
different plant species. By studying the diverse chemistries of many different
plant species, scientists have discovered many useful compounds that can be used
as bio-pesticides.
Bio-pesticides include naturally occurring substances that control pests,
microorganisms that control pests and pesticidal substances produced by plants
containing added genetic material.

Bio-pesticides, used to replace chemical pesticides, have active ingredients that

cone from natural materials like animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals.
Unlike synthetic chemical pesticides derived from petroleum products, the micro-
organisms/ substances in bio-pesticides works slowly. However, they do not
harm natural enemies and the environment while providing effective control of
specific target pests such as weeds, insects, diseases etc. The active ingredients of
bio-pesticides can be microbial or plant substances that control pests.
The first botanical insecticide dates back to the 17th century, when it was shown
that nicotine from tobacco leaves killed plum beetles. Today, there are a number
of bio-pesticide plant extracts being marketed as insecticides. These products fall
into several different classes:

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Insect Growth Regulators: Plant extracts that prevent insects from reaching the
reproductive stage.
Feeding Deterrents: A compound that, once ingested by the insect pest, causes
it to stop feeding and eventually, to starve to death. Crop damage is inhibited and
the insect eventually starves to death.
Repellents: Typically compounds which release odors that is unappealing or
irritating to insects. Examples include garlic or pepper-based insecticides.
Confusants: Compounds that imitate food sources and are used as traps or
decoys to draw damaging insects away from crops. Confusants can also be
formulated as concentrated sprays designed to overwhelm insects with so many
sources of stimuli that they cannot locate the crop.
Not only are plant extracts used directly as insecticides, but they are used also as
a source for synthetic insecticides based on analogues developed in the
laboratory. Scientists have modified molecules found in plants to be more toxic
or more persistent.
Bio-fertilizers are living microorganisms that improve the health and quality of
soils that help the plants obtain the necessary nutrients. The soil becomes more
nutritious and helps the seeds and roots grow to their full potential. Bio-fertilizers
activate the microorganisms that are found in the soil, thus restoring the soils'
natural fertility and protecting it against soil diseases and moisture stresses.

Bio-fertilizer is a population of a specific micro-organism or a group of beneficial

micro-organisms for enhancing the productivity of soil. It can provide nutrients to
the plant either by fixing atmospheric nitrogen or by solubilizing soil
phosphorous or by stimulating plant growth through synthesis of growth
promoting substance. Bio-fertilizers based on renewable energy source are cost
effective, eco-friendly and can help to economize on the high investment needed
for chemical fertilizer.

Following benefits can be obtained through the use of bio-fertilizer

 It increases the crop yield by 20-30 %.
 It stimulates plant growth.
 It activates the soil biologically.
 It restores natural fertility
 It provides protection against drought and some soil borne diseases.

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 Preparation of Bio-Pesticides & Bio-Fertilizer

Instant garlic mixture

Preparation (for one acre):

Garlic 250 gms
Ginger 250 gms
Green chilli 100 gms
Neem oil ½ litre
Washing soap

Scrape the soap and rigorously mix with the neem oil. Then add separately
crushed ginger, garlic and green chilli and add water up to one liter. Close the
container with a piece of cloth and keep for about 5 hours. Then dilute the
mixture up to 20 liters and filter to obtain a sediment less solution. This is now
ready to apply in paddy field to control pest such as paddy bug, brown plant
hopper, thrips, gall midge, leaf folder, stem borer etc.
For vegetables dilute up to 30 liters.

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 Ginger, garlic and green chilli Mix well

Another insect repellant

Neem (Azadirachta indica) Vara (Calotropis gigantea) crown flower

Castor (Ricinus communis) Nochchi (Vitex negundo L.)

Add leaves and tender stems of neem, crown flower, castor, nika (nochchi in
Tamil) etc. into a container and apply 10 liters of cow urine and 10 liters of
water. Dilute after one week to the ratio 1 : 20 and spray to the crop.

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For insects in paddy fields
Within few days after sowing various pests can be found in the paddy field.

Paddy bug Brown plant hopper

Thrips Gall midge

Leaf folder Stem borer

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Following practices are recommended to adopt for paddy pests.
 Place a bunch of ‘gas kappetiya’ (Croton laccifercus) leaves flow inlet of
the paddy plot. Mount gas kappetiya branches here and there in the plot.

Gas kappetiya

 Make a hole at the flow inlet of the paddy plot. Place therein neem leaves,
goda kaduru leaves, daluk leaves, lime/ orange leaves, andu leaves,
kalawel leaves, maduru thala etc.

Goda kaduru (Strychnos nux-vomica)

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 Daluk (Euphorbia antiquorum), Chaturakalli in Tamil

Andu kola (Eryngium foetidum), Piranga in Tamil

Kala wel (Derris scandens) Maduruthala (Ocimum tenuiflorum)

Surasa in Tamil

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  Grind chilli well with water and make a strong solution. Spray this after
adequately diluted to the paddy field to control pest. Select more pungent
chilli species such as kochchi (Capsicum frutescens), heen miris, naimiris
etc.

 Crush the barks of rukaththana (Alstonia scholaris) tree and mix it with
water. Spray this solution to control paddy insects.

 Mix flower extract of Merigold (Tagets erecta), with water and spray to
paddy field to control hoppers and moths

Merigold (Tagets erecta)

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 To control thrips in paddy fields, crush daluk leaves and mix the juice
with water. Place this solution in the flow inlet of the paddy plot.
 To protect seed paddy from insect damage, crush Wada kaha (Acorus
calamus L. In Tamil - Vashambu), Geta tumba (Leucas zelanicus – In
Tamil - Thumbai) and balathana (Eleusine indica), mix with cow dung
and add water to prepare a liquid mixture. Seed paddy is immersed in this
mixture and kept for one day.

Wadakaha Balathana

Geta tumba

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For any crop insects:
 Extract leaf juice of neem, adathoda, nika (Nochchi in Tamil),
maduruthala (Surasa in Tamil), andu (Piranga in Tamil) and keppetiya
(Croton laccifercus) and add crushed seeds of neem, karanda and tubers
of niyagala and wadakaha. Mix all with water in container and keep for
few days. Then add sugar spray the filtered mixture to the crop.
 Add Lemon oil and oil of kumburu seeds to the salt water and spray it to
the crop.
 Mix crushed neem seeds with water and spray
 Steam braise the neem seeds and crush to get the juice and spray for
controlling plant hoppers, worms, snails, flies, insects, bugs etc.
 Crush chillies with strong pungency, mix with garlic paste and spray
 Mix neem oil with soap solution vigourously and spray
 To protect the crop from pest damage prepare a mixed leaf juice of
kahambilya (Girardinia diversifolia), gandapana (Lantana camara),
kalawel, andu, maduruthala, anoda (Annona squamosa L.) and nika
and ferment it with tobacco leaf juice for few days and spray.

Gandapana Anoda

Caterpillar can be controlled by spraying a mixture of crushed tubers of wal

inguru (Zingiber zerumbet) and habarala (Alocasia macrorrhiza (L.) Schott)
stirred in water.

wal inguru habarala

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  To control black ants in the crop, spray crust extract of araliya floweres
diuted with water.
 To control aphids and catepillars crush together papaya buds, barks of
milla, mimoza, tobacco, wara (Calotropis gigantea) leaves, wadakaha
rhizomes and cappetiya leaves and mix with soap water and spray.
 To control diamondback moth, crushed kalawel is mixed with water and
sprayed to the crop.
 To control diamondback moth and red bug crushed wild sunflower leaves
are mixed with water and sprayed to the crop.

Diamondback moth wild sunflowr

 To control leaf curl disease of chilli, mix the leaves of gansooriya

(Thespesia populnea), kappatiya (Croton laccifercus), adathoda
(Adhatoda vasica) and gliricidia with fresh cow dung in a container and
keep for two weeks and then spray it to the crop.

Thespesia populnea Adhatoda vasica

 To control leaf curl disease of chilli, mix the juice of stinging nettle
(Tragia hispida) leaves with fresh cow dung in a container and keep for 2-
3 days and then spray it to the crop.

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 Stinging nettle Leaf curl of chilli
 To control thrips in onion, crush B’onion and garlic and mix with water
and spray in morning and evening

For shoot borer damage in brinjal

 Crush wadakaha, ginger and leaves of nika, maduruthala, adhatoda and
get the juice mixture and mix with water and spray
 Keep the juice mixture of kalawel, walinguru and gandapana for 2-3 days
and spray
 Keep the mixture of sulphur and fresh cow dung for 2-3 days and spray
 Add sulphur to the juice of habarala (Alocasia macrorrhiza (L.) Schott)
tuber and spray

Shoot borer damage in brinjal

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Fungal Diseases Control

Fungal diseases

 Mix juices of garlic and andanahiriya (Crotalaria retusa) leaves with

soap solution and spray
 Select juice of one or two of following and mix it with garlic juice to control
fungal diseases of crops:
o Leaves of pigeon pea, thampala (amaranthus), ipil ipil, caster,
kudalu (Impatiens flaccida), gotukola, gliricidia, kapparawalliya
(Plectranthus amboinicus) nika and adhatoda and ginger rhizome,

Andanahiriya Amaranthus

Kapparawalliya Kudalu

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Fruit trees
 When you find fruit trees (jak fruit, bread fruit) are not bearing, set fire
under the tree without damaging the tree.
 If papaya tree is not bearing injure the tree bark at about 5ft height
 If papaya tree is not bearing, prune it obtain branches. Remove branches
keeping one to get pods.

 If fruit trees such as butter fruit, kamaranga are not bearing, injure the big
branches by beating with a wooden rod.
 If citrus trees such as orange, lime are not bearing, hang coconut husks to
lower the branches
 To obtain large size fruits of pomegranate and mango, apply dry fish
soaked water
 For blooming fruit trees:
o Apply cow milk mixed with ghee to the bottom of the tree
o Apply fish soaked water to the bottom of the tree
o Grind dry goat dung, cow dung and bat waste and apply
 To obtain large size fruits, grind aralu (Terminalia chebula), bulu
(Terminalia belerica) and nelli (Phyllanthus embelica) and smoke the
tree.

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Aralu (Terminalia chebula) Bulu(Terminalia belerica)

Nelli (Phyllanthus embelica)

 For vigorous growth and bearing of grape, grind poultry dung and apply to
the crop
 In order to obtain large size fruits cover the banana bunch with a wet gunny
bag
 For bearing jak fruits, crush madu (Cycas nathorstii) leaves and roots and mix
with crushed wadakaha and spray to the tree roots.
 To control termites mix juice of habarala habarala (Alocasia macrorrhiza
(L.) Schott) tuber and walinguru (Zingiber zerumbet) rhizomes with
water and spray

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 Madu (Cycas nathorstii)

Fish Amino Acid Fertilizer

Fish Amino Acid (FAA) is an effective organic liquid fertilizer. It is prepared
from fish and solid jaggery. Do not use liquid type jaggery. Equal amounts of fish
and jiggery are mixed together and put into a pot or a plastic container. Cover it
from piece of cloth and store it under shade for about 15 days.
Application – You can apply this to soil or to leaves of the plant. Do not directly
apply this without diluting. Apply 20 – 30 times water depending on the type of
crop.

Add some water and mix it thoroughly

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 No overpowering stench

Liquid Fertilizer
Nitrogen is rich in liquid fertilizer. In addition it contains potassium, phosphorous
and micro-nutrients, therefore plants treated with liquid fertilizer do not show
symptoms of nutrient deficiency.

Preparation of the solution for one acre:

 Shoots and leaves of gliricidia – 25 kg

 Dry citronella leaves – 5 kg
 Fresh cow dung – 10 kg
 Shoots and leaves of gandapana (Lantana camara) – 4kg
 Shoots and leaves of Moringa – 500 gm
 Soil – 2kg

gliricidia citronella

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 Lantana camara Moringa

Methodology:
 Stir well fresh cow dung with water in a container. Then mix other
substances into it and keep for 14 days. During this period stir the solution
for about 5 minutes in three times a day by using a wood stick. Bubbling
will take place from the very first day and odour will disappear after few
days.
 Cover the container always with a wet gunny bag
 Everything will be decomposed during 21 days. In this process, nutrients,
hormones and minerals will be released to water.
 Stop stirring after 14 days, then undecomposed materials will come to the
surface and suspend as a cake.
 Then after another 7 days filter through a piece of cloth and dilute 2 – 3
times with water.
 As fungicidal and insecticidal substances are in the solution, crop damage
due to diseases will be minimal. It is recommended to spray 7 – 10 times
to a crop. The solution can be kept for about 3 months if stored in black
bottles or in bottles covered with black polythene.

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This solution is suitable for leafy vegetables, vegetables and for paddy. Dilute 1:
5-6 times when spraying to crops such as brinjal, tomato, pumpkin, cucumber etc.
in order to enhance the effectiveness dissolve 100 gms of soap in 10 liters of
solution.
At the end remove the floating cake and keep for the next time to prepare the
solution. It will act as a culture and within 14 days the solution can be prepared.

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‘Pancha Gavya’

The Sanskrit term Panchagavya means "five products from the cow". These are
cow dung, cow's urine, milk, curd and ghee. By mixing all these ingredients in
equal proportion and allowing the mixture to ferment will produce Panchagavya.
The three direct constituents are cow dung, urine, and milk; the two derived
products are curd and ghee. These are mixed in proper ratio and then allowed to
ferment. Sometimes, you may find 'Panchagavya' wrongly pronounced as
'Panchakavya'. However, the correct pronunciation is Panchagavya. Gavya means
related to cow and Kavya means poetry. However, improved Panchagavya
consists of nine products i.e. cow dung, cow urine, milk, curd, jaggery, ghee,
banana, tender coconut, and water.

Cow dung Cow urine

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 Cow milk Curd made from cow milk

Ghee from cow milk wide mouthed earthen pot

For making approx. 20 litres of panchagavya you need the following:

 Fresh cow dung - 5kg
 Fresh cow’s urine – 3 litres
 Cow’s milk – 2 litres
 Cow’s curd – 2 litres
 Cow’s ghee – 500 gms
 Jaggery – 500 gms
 Water or sugarcane juice - 3 litres
 Ripe banana fruit - 1 bunch (12 nos.)
 Tender coconut water – 3 litres
 Toddy – 2 litres
(If toddy is not available, you can ferment 3 litres of tender coconut water
by keeping it in a pot for 1 week. That will become toddy. )

Method of preparation:
 Take 5 kgs of fresh cow dung and mix it thoroughly with 500 gms of
cow’s ghee and keep it in a plastic drum or a mud pot. It should not be
kept in a metal container because it will corrode and react with the metal.
Keep the ghee and the cow dung mixture for 4 days, mixing it twice a
day.

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  On the 5th day add cow’s urine, cow’s milk (cow’s milk can be boiled,
cooled and then added) and cow’s curd, then jaggery with water or
sugarcane juice and banana fruit (which has to be mashed and mixed
thoroughly.) Then tender coconut water has to be added.
 Wait for another 15 days, stirring twice daily. Stirring the contents for
about 20 minutes each time facilitates aerobic microbial activity.
 On the 19th day the panchagavya solution will be ready. This solution
must be kept under a net, i.e. it must be covered with a muslin or fine
cloth so that the common fly cannot sit on it and lay eggs. For use after
19th day, stir the mixture at least once a day to aerate it.
Application:

200ml of this solution can be diluted with 10 litres of water with proper stirring
for spraying on plants. For soil application, dilute 1000ml in 10litres of water.

Periodicity of use:

Once in 15 days, it can be used for all crops. In winter crops, 1.5-2% usage is
sufficient but for all other crops 3% should be used.

Benefits to crops:
 Enhances the immunity of plants
 Stimulates the plant growth
 Tolerant to dryness
 Increased yield

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‘Jeevamrutha’

Jeevamrutha is considered to be a panacea for the prosperity of small farmers. It

is important to provide a congenial environment to microorganisms that help in
making available the essential nutrients for plant growth viz., nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium, to the plants. Jeevamrutha provides such an
environment to beneficial microbes. Application of Jeevamrutha to soil
improves the soil considerably. It also encourages microbial activity in the soil.

Preparation method:

Ingredients (Sufficient for 1 acre)

 Water - 200-250 lts

 Cow dung - 10-15 kgs
 Cow Urine - 3-4 lts
 Jaggery - 1-2 kgs
 Soil under a tree or un-disturbed location form the same land - 2-
3 handfuls.

Mix all of them and keep them in a shade for 3-4 days. Stir the mixture once a
day. Apply the mixture when the ground is wet for the plants. This seems to
work wonders for the plants due to increased microbial activity by 3rd and 4th
day. This is an excellent culture for enabling the exponential increase of
beneficial microbes. The microbes are added through 2-3 handful of local soil.

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Though it can be used even after 6-7 days, it is quite a challenge getting near the
mixture due to overpowering stench, hence advisable to use this within 3-4 days
of preparation.

How to use the Manure?

 The manure can be mixed with irrigation water.

 The manure can also be used with Drip Irrigation.
 Also, can spray 10% filtered manure on the crops.

When to use the Manure?

 The manure should be mixed thoroughly twice daily (in the morning &
evening) for 2 days before usage
 The manure should be applied when the land is wet for the plants.
 Generally, it is accepted that every 15 days the manure can be applied.
 For even better results, the manure can also be used thrice in a month.

Jeevamrutha can be used as a fertilizer for each plant for every week, which
boosts the plant growth and gives good yield. We need to use the prepared one
within one week of preparation. Please note that once we use Jeevamrutha, we
should not water the plants for 12 hrs.

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