A recent study, carried out by Kerala Agricultural University here, has found out that a
range of banned pesticides are being used widely in the south Indian state.
Majority of those chemicals are banned in foreign countries due to its high toxic content and are dangerous to humans as well as environment, says the study which is a
collaborative venture of KAU and Kerala State Council for Science and Technology.
Though there is a slight decline in the use of pesticides in the state over the years, the use of the highly toxic ones are on the rise, said Agricultural Economics Professor P Indira Devi, who led the study.
"Of the 43 major pesticides widely used there, 10 showed an increased rate of use between 1995-96 and 2005-06. We have done the study in mango and banana farms in Palakkad and Wayanad, pine apple plantations in Ernakulam and Idukki,
bitter gourd crops in Kottayam, amaranthus in Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram. The result was shocking," she said.
Major banned chemicals, largely in use in Kerala farms, are chemicals such as mancozeb, carbendazim, diuron and paraquat, the study says.
As per the study, a total of 14 pesticides are used for pest control by banana farmers, 15 chemicals in bitter gourd fields and nine in okra and amaranthus farms.
However, experts participated in the study state that the most shocking finding among these is the use of Endosulfan.
Indira said, Endosulfan is allegedly used in certain mango and pineapple plantations in northern Palakkad district.
It is reportedly brought to the district from Pollachi in neighbouring state Tamil Nadu.
Endosulfan had caused one of the gravest chemical tragedies in the south Indian state. The pesticide used in the cashew farms in Kasaragod district had resulted in the death of many inhabitants in the region.