RAMGANG, 4 Oct: The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), East Kameng has informed that use of Paraquat, a toxic chemical that is widely used as an herbicide (plant killer) has led to the death of stocked fingerlings in fish culture ponds resulting in a huge economic loss of farmers in the district recently, and appealed to the farmers and denizens of the district as well as state, to avoid the utilization of agro-chemicals/weedicides in their farm and agricultural fields.
A release from KVK, East Kameng on Wednesday stated that the farmers of Ramgang near Pampoli in East Kameng unknowingly used the said weedicide and the chemical entered in the fish culture ponds through water runoff as the rain started just after a day of the application of paraquat which led to the huge economic loss of farmers.
“Though Switzerland and China have banned paraquat, however, in India, paraquat remains widely available across the country despite years of calls from doctors and activists to ban it. Not only does paraquat get absorbed into weeds very quickly, it is very fast acting. Nowadays farmers are utilizing chemicals for weed control which is not only degrading the soil quality but also harming nature through their adverse effect on the ecosystem,” added the release.
The KVK further advised the farmers to use manual means of weed control which is safe and utilize the removed weed for making compost/vermicompost for enhancing crop production and improving soil health.
