Analysis of botanicals used in agriculture pest management in wayanad, south india

In this study, the main objective was to document all pesticide plants used in Wayanad district, a questionnaire based interview conducted among 200 rural farmers. All the data were recorded in previously designed data sheets to reflect different objectives. Sixty eight species belonging to 33 families were recorded during the survey. For analysis, Informant consensus factor (ICF) was calculated to indicate information homogeneity. The ICF value 1.00 is observed for Azadirachta indica and is considered as the most important pesticide species from the study area. Other important pesticide plant species are Allium sativum (0.97), Nicotiana tabacum (0.94), Zingiber officinale (0.71), Pongamia pinnata (0.64) and Curcuma longa (0.64). The minimum ICF value 0.04 is recorded for Anamirta cocculus followed by Euphorbia hirta (0.045), Lobelia nicotonifolia (0.045) and Derris brevipes (0.05) indicates the limited usage of this plant as bio-pesticide. Some important pesticide plants like Derris brevipes, Madhuca longifolia, Quassia indica, Toddalia asiatica were reportedly becoming increasingly rare and would need conservation efforts. Research on active components, pesticide preparations, application rates and environmental impact of botanical pesticides are a prerequisite for sustainable agriculture and recording this knowledge before it disappears with the aging farmers was seen as urgent.