PRE VAIL ING EN VI RON MEN TAL IS SUES IN GRAPE CUL TI VA TION
D. Jebapreetha1 and M. Esakkimuthu21
Tamil Nadu Ag ri cul tural Uni ver sity, Madurai, 2Govind Ballabh Pant Uni ver sity of Ag ri cul ture and Tech nol ogy, Pantnagar Email for cor re spon dence : esakkimuthu418@ya hoo.com
ABSTRACT
In our country, green revolution has witnessed a quantum jump in agricultural production, with the introduction of high yielding varieties of various crops and by following intensive cultivation practices with the use of fertilizers, pesticides and other inorganic inputs. The intensive use of inorganic inputs has not only polluted the soil, water and the environment, but also affected human beings. Further the demographic pressure along with the increasing industrialization and urbanization has placed a tremendous strain on the shrinking resources. In order to balance this situation, eco-friendly farming, which aims at cultivating the land and raising crops in such a way as to keep the soil alive in good health, may be an alternative to the present system of farming which solely depends on chemicals. This study aimed to find the prevailing environmental issues in grape cultivation practices of the farmers. The study was conducted in Theni district of Tamil Nadu with 120 farmers by simple random sampling method. Pre-tested interview schedule was used for data collection purpose. Percentage analysis, cumulative frequency, coefficient of correlation and multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. The study reveals that farmers are using excessive amount fertilizers in grape filed which leads to soil quality degradation.
Key words : Pro duc tion, in dus tri al iza tion, en vi ron ment, fer til iz ers and de mo graphic pres sure.
Environmental problems pose a serious threat to the world’s natural resources and to all of us who depend on them for food, fuel, shelter and medicine. Many of such problems respect no boarders and threaten health, prosperity and even national security. Economic instability and political unrest may also result when people around the globe lack clean water, food or a livable environment. Agriculture is one of the major contributors of the environmental problems. Paddy fields and cattle wastes release Methane, green house gas, which adds to the problem of global warming. Pesticide contamination of food and water, polluted air and invasive species of plants and animals can take the toll on our welfare and economy. It is to be noted that every year, toxic chemicals, some capable of not only travelling thousands of miles from their source but also persisting in the environment for decades, are released into the earth’s atmosphere. Our Indian agriculture, the modern agriculture in particular, is not void of environmental problems. India experienced green revolution during the 1960s. Green revolution is a double edged sword. It has both positive and negative impacts on environment. The green revolution also needed increased use of pesticides. Accordingly (1) pointed out that excessive and non-judicious use of pesticides in successive crops under intensive cropping systems over decades and inherent persistence nature of some compounds have led to the problem of pesticide-residues. The cropping pattern in India is changing fast, particularly in favour of export-oriented commercial crops. These crops pose threat to the environment as mentioned above. Grapes (Vitis vinifera) is one such crop which accelerates environmental degradation. The advancement of technologies, the cultivation practices of grapes had
improved increasing the yield and quality of grapes. However, to control the tremendous losses occurred due to pests and diseases in grapes, thousands of hundreds of kilograms of pesticides were dumped into the environment causing pollution (2).
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study was taken up to document the environmental issues in the grape growing areas of Tamilnadu namely Theni district since it is the intensive cultivation zones of Tamilnadu. Cumbum block of Uthamapalayam taluk was selected for sampling. Five revenue villages of Cumbum block were selected based on the judgments of Assistant Agricultural Officer, Agricultural Officer and the Agricultural Development Officer of the block. They opined that the intensive cultivation is practiced in the above villages. Based on proportionate sampling method sample size of 120 farmers were selected for the study. In almost all the seasons, different crops are being cultivated intensively. More specifically grapes is a major crop being cultivated in about 2122 hectare of land.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Environmental issues related to soil, water and produce residues : The stakeholders like grapes growers, extension personnel, marketing agents and input dealers were consulted to document the issues related to soil, water and produce residues besides collecting data from secondary sources. The information gathered were grouped and presented as below.
SOIL RELATED ISSUES
Worn out and weak soil : Grapes were introduced in the Volume 12 (2) : 191-196, (2017) in Agriculture and Technology
Table-1 : Environmental issues (Primary sources)
S. No. Issues Stakeholders Then (25-30 years) Now
1. Worn out and weak soil
1.1 Cropping pattern Grapes growers Food crops were
Cultivated
Shifted to cash crops-Grapes cultivation (5 crops in 2 years) 1.2 Cattle population Grapes growers More number of cattle-
100 cows/field 75 cows/house
Less in number about 1 to 2 cows /house
1.3 Area under grazing land Grapes growers More area Decreasing
2. Loss of inherent soil fertility 2.1 Fertilizer
Consumption
Grapes growers, Input dealers and Extension personnel
Only Farm Yard Manure And Less NPK fertilizers
Only NPK fertilizers and Less Farm Yard Manure
3. Soil Compaction
3.1 Pandal type Grapes growers Temporary structure -Poles
& Ropes
Permanent structure -Stones/Cement pillar, iron twines
3.2 Weeding Grapes growers and
Extension personnel
Hand weeding, Mechanical weeding to turn and loosen the soil
Using weedicides due to poor labour availability
4. Human activities and mismanagement 4.1 Use of Fertilizers and
chemicals as per recommendation
Extension personnel and Input dealers
Adopted less than recommendation
Adopted more than recommendation
4.2 Varietal change Grapes growers Paneer (100%) Thompson seedless (75%),
Paneer (25%) 4.3 Pesticides use of grapes
growers
Grapes growers and Input dealers
Dithane – 2 gm/lit Blue Coppre –2gm/lit Bordeaux mixture –0.25% Ridomil 1kg (thrice)
Dithane M 45 - 50 g in 12lit Curzate M-8 -600 g in 150 lit Nustar - 5 ml in 12 lit Bavistin - 250 g in 120 lit Lannate - 25 g in 12 lit Nuvan - 15 ml in 12 lit Dilt – 5 ml in 12lit New star – 5 ml in 12 lit Karathane- 3 ml in 12lit Calaxyl -5ml in 12 lit SAAF – 250 g in 150 lit Bayleton 100 g in 150 lit Kosovid -50 g in 12 lit Eliyat – 25g in 12 lit 5. Depleted aquifers and lowered water table
5.1 Water availability Grapes growers More Less (Water Scarcity)
5.2 Ground water Grapes growers &
Extension personnel
Water available at 30 feet in bore wells
Need to dig upto 1000 feet to get water in bore well 6. Delayed monsoon and unpredicted weather
6.1 Monsoon Grapes growers and
Input dealers
Predicted Monsoon Unexpected rain during Winter and Summer Grapes growers Uniform distribution of
rainfall
Prolonged dry weather after monsoon season
Grapes growers 20 rainy days 5-7 rainy days
Forest Grapes growers More area under forest Forest area reduced to
deforestation
Forest cover thick & dense Forest cover less & dense 7. Pesticide residues in crop produce
7.1 Produce residue Grapes growers,
Extension personnel
No residue problem Not eating the grapes harvested from their own field
8. Reduction in keeping quality and taste
8.1 Reduced keeping quality Marketing agent Grapes reaching Chennai market stand for long days
Grapes reaching Chennai market decay immediately
8.2 Marketing agent,
Extension personnel
No.of chemicals used :5-6 No.of chemicals used:14-16
8.3 Extension personnel Pre-harvest interval was
maintained as recommended
study area during 1980’s. Due to the favourable weather prevailed in the study area grapes growers have gone for intensive cultivation which yielded three crops in a year and five crops in two years (3). Grapes being a perennial crop, it exhausts nutrients from the soil. Intensive cultivation of any crop with inorganic fertilizers depletes the nutrient status of soil in general and micronutrients in particular. Due to increase in area under grapes cultivation (810.28 ha in 1984 to 2,122 ha in 2005-06) the availability of green manure has decreased. The recommended dose of Farm Yard Manure, rich in natural plant nutrients were not applied by the farmers. They could not apply the required FYM, as the cattle population per household decreased from about 100 nos. to about 2 nos. (Table-2, 1.2). They could not afford to maintain such a huge number of cattle herds because the grazing land declined from 1,124 ha in 1986-87 to 314 ha in 2007-08. Because of the limited availability the cost of farm yard manure increased to Rs. 2000 per tractor load and goat manure to Rs.4500, excluding the labour charges for loading and unloading. Continuous depletion of nutrients without enrichment made the soil weak.
Loss of inherent fertility of the soil : Generally a fertile soil may contain earthworms (408 kg /acre) and micro organism (600 million bacteria and 15,000 to 20,000 different species of bacteria/gram of soil). Cumbam valley and the foothills of Sirumalai were known for their rich fertility status of the soil about 20 to 30 years ago. But now, because of the intensive cultivation, the fertility status has come down, to the extent it needed 17,723.4 m. tonnes of fertilizers in 2007-08 to replenish the soil. Even in 1992-93 the total fertilizer consumption was only 57 m.tonnes in the study area. Excessive use of chemicals had degraded the soil by killing beneficial microorganisms and earthworms which are the biological indicators of soil health. Indiscriminate application of fertilizers and inorganic inputs by the grapes growers had degraded the inherent soil fertility. Grapes growers preferred chemical fertilizers, as they were easily available and easily transportable to
the fields. Moreover the results were immediate and visible. They dumped the chemical fertilizers for gain, which inturn affected texture and the natural capacity of the soil to nourish the crops. The soil in the study area lost it’s inherent fertility and soil breeding was done by grapes growers with imported soil from river bed.
Soil compaction : Soil compaction is a form of physical degradation (formation of a pan-layer) resulting in distortion of the soil, where biological activity, porosity and permeability are reduced and soil structure partly destroyed. Compaction can reduce water infiltration capacity of the soil. Earlier the pandals erected were temporary in nature. As they were made of poles and ropes, ploughing the land with country plough was easy after dismantling the poles and ropes. But now the permanent pandals were of stones and concrete pillars interrupted and made periodical ploughing difficult. Because of the application of herbicides, both hand weeding and mechanical weeding were neglected which resulted in compaction of soil. The high wage rate and non-availability of skilled labours forced the grapes cultivators to rely more on weedicides which saved their time and money. As the result gradually, the soil got compacted diminishing it’s capacity to absorb water and nutrients. The farmers were more concerned about the present than the future.
Human activities and mismanagement : Intensive cultivation, indiscriminate, unscrupulous and excessive use of chemicals had turned the fertile land in to barren patches of land. In the study area, it was reported by the grapes growers that about 25 years ago they had used lesser quantity of chemical inputs, than the recommended doses. But now, they apply more than the recommended doses. (Table 2, 2. 1). Moreover there is a shift in the variety cultivated. Earlier they cultivated the variety panneer (100 %) without much competition for yield among the farmers. But, now as they have shifted to Thompson seedless variety (75 %) which is a highly Table-1 : Environmental issues (Primary sources)
S. No Issues Stakeholders Then (25-30 years) Now
9. Loss of biodiversity
9.1 Pesticide usage Grapes growers and
extension personnel
Used Known recommended pesticides
Using Unknown pesticides
Extension personnel Number of sprays was less 2-5/ season
Number of sprays is 18-20 spray/ season
Grapes growers Number of pesticide shops in the villages 1 to 2
Number of pesticide shops in the village is 8 to10
Extension personnel Hand operated sprayers Power operated sprayers 10. Health hazards
10.1 Health hazard Grapes grower Spray men never
experienced fainting & giddiness while handling and spraying pesticides
Experiencing giddiness and fainting when spraying the chemical ‘Donet’
export oriented variety, requires high amount of chemical inputs (Table 1, 4.2 and 4.3).Such indiscriminate and excessive use of chemical inputs had turned the fertile land to barren patches. Further due to low yield and high cost of cultivation for grapes ten per cent of the grapes growers in the study area shifted to vegetables cultivation (grown in pandals). Five per cent sold their land out of frustration and ten per cent leased out their land. Part of the land in the study area was left uncultivable and sold for
construction of buildings. Consequently the number of grapes growers and the land under grapes cultivation were greatly reduced in recent days.
WATER RELATED ISSUES
Depleted aquifers and lowered water table : Groundwater is the important source of water for agriculture and there are 15,655 wells and tube wells in the study area. Intensive agriculture necessitated heavy extraction of groundwater for irrigation which depleted the Table-2 : Environmental issues (Secondary data)
1. Worn out and weak soil
1.1 Area under grapes cultivation 1984 810.28 ha ?
2005-06 2,122 ha ****
1.2 Cattle population 1982 1,97,18,641*
2007-08 91,41,043**
1.3 Area under grazing 1986-87 1,124 ha*
2007-08 314 ha ***
2. Loss of inherent soil fertility
2.1 Total NPK consumption 1992-93 57 tonnes *****
2007-08 17723.4 tonnes***
3. Human activities and their mismanagement 3.1 Fertilizers and plant protection
chemicals adoption
Subbiah ,M. 1984 94.00 % adopted less than
recommended Jebapreetha,D.2008
(Present study)
96.70% adopted more than recommended
4. Delayed monsoon and unpredicted weather
4.1 Area under forest 1986-87 307,408 ha *
2007-08 103,718 ha ***
5. Pesticide residues in crop produce 5.1 Report of laboratory analysis for
residues in grapes
Cesenik,2008
An analysis made on grapes samples for pesticide-residues revealed that 18 samples exceeded national MRLs for cycyprodinil (the concentration range was 0.03-0.40 mg kg(-1) of cyprodinil) and fludioxonil (concentration was 0.03 mg kg(-1) of fludioxonil). Multiple residues were found in 41 samples (87.2%). The highest number of pesticides detected per sample was seven. Folpet (97.9%), cyprodinil (51.1%), dithiocarbamates (44.7%), chlorothalonil (23.4%), chlorpyriphos (19.1%) and pyrimethanil (14.9%) were the most frequently found pesticides in grapes
6. Loss of biodiversity
6.1 Pesticides used 1993 Dust – 12 tonnes *****
Liquid – 11437 lit
2007-08 Dust – 960 tonnes ***
Liquid – 76,305 lit 7. Health hazards
7.1 Jyotsna (2003) studied the biochemical effect of various pesticides on sprayers of grapes gardens and reported that when a total of 85 healthy male pesticide sprayers in grapes garden exposed to different class of pesticides for three to ten years experienced significant decrease in serum cholinesterase, serum total proteins, albumin and hematological parameters. He concluded that the long term exposure of various pesticides on sprayers of grapes garden affected liver, heme biosynthesis and decreased serum cholinesterase.
(Chitra, 2006) studied the use of pesticides and it’s impact on human health. She reported that the farmers suffered from “excessive sweating” (36.5%), “burning/ stinging/ itching of eyes” (35.7%), “dry/sore throat” (25.5%), “excessive salivation” (14.1%). These signs and symptoms had a higher prevalence among the sprayers
*Statistical Handbook of Tamil Nadu (1986) **Statistical Handbook of Tamil Nadu (2007-08) ***District statistical hand book (2007-2008) ****Season and crop report (2005-06)
aquifers and lowered the water table. Grapes is a perennial crop that stands for 15 years in the field, which requires continuous water supply. More over the area under grapes is also increased (Table 2, 1.1) which led to heavy and continuous extraction of ground water by the grapes growers. Groundwater was extracted by means of deep bore well in the study area. It was told by the grapes growers that within a span of 20 years the ground water table level had gone down to 1000 feet from 30 feet indicating the heavy extraction of groundwater by the grapes growers.
Delayed monsoon and unpredicted weather : It was reported by the grapes cultivators that earlier they were able to predict the monsoon, its distribution and number of rainy days. The distribution of rainfall was uniform and the number of rainy days was more, 2 to 3 rains were expected every month even beyond the monsoon season. But now the dry weather prolongs after monsoon season and the number of rainy days is less and the raining is erratic and at times there is unpredicted frequent and heavy down-pour. Moreover the area under forest cover and the density got reduced over the years (Table 2, 4.1). Grapes growers were not able to produce quality grapes owing to erratic rainfall during ripening. Unexpected rain and wind affected the crop to a greater extent. They also felt deforestation as one of the reasons which altered the monsoon and weather in the study area.
PRODUCE RESIDUES RELATED ISSUES
Pesticide-residues in crop produce : Pesticides and other chemicals used in agriculture are carried into the crops. They get into human food chain and affect the health of those who eat the food. All the edible parts having residues are regularly consumed by human beings, which is extremely dangerous to human health. The situation is so alarming that even mother’s milk is not free from pesticides. The grapes growers in the study area had the practice of using pesticides and fertilizers more than the recommended doses (Table 1, 4.3). Moreover during ripening, the fruits were dipped into chemicals and growth regulators. Gradually these pesticides accumulate in the body and have long term effects. It was opined by the grapes growers and the input dealers that residue problem was not seen about 25 years ago. But now they fear and did not eat the grapes which they harvested from their own field, knowing the residual effects. Grapes were rejected due to pesticide residue problem and recently European Union countries imposed technical ban on Indian export of grapes as it did not conform to the standard of food safety prescribed by European countries and Codex Alimentarius. It is also supported by the laboratory results (Table 2, 5.1)
Reduction in keeping quality and taste : When chemicals are heavily used in the cultivation it naturally
deteriorates the original taste and quality of the produce. In grapes, pesticides either insecticides or fungicides are used as routine affair every day or once in 2 to 3 days. Earlier the chemicals used by them were less in number and quantity but now the number of chemicals used are more and the quantity is also raised (Table, 1, 4.3). More over pre-harvest interval which varies for each sprayed chemical was not maintained by the grapes growers. It was told by the marketing agent that earlier though the harvested grapes reached Chennai market only after two days, the berries remained as such without any reduction in its keeping quality. But, now even though it reaches Chennai by overnight the berries starts decaying and dropping from the bunch, which reduces its market value and demand. The induced ripening, sweetening and colouring by chemicals might have contributed for the reduced shelf-life.
OTHER RELATED ISSUES
Loss of biodiversity : Biodiversity refers to the variety of species that exist in an ecosystem. Greater the bio-diversity, healthier the ecosystem is. Pesticides kill not only the pests but also the beneficial organisms. Extension personnel and the input dealers stated that earlier less amount of known pesticides were sprayed with hand operated sprayers and the number of sprays was also less and sprayed as and when required. But now, many unknown pesticides have been sprayed with power operated sprayers as routine affair once in three days. Thus pesticide usage has increased in number and quantity over years (Table 1, 4.3 Table 2, 6.1). Insecticides kill not only the targeted pests but also the many beneficial natural predators. Indiscriminate use of insecticides for immediate knock down effect has led to the destruction of natural enemies. The grapes growers were not concerned about the long-term effect of these poisons they spray on the crop and soils. On enquiry, grapes growers reported that they were not able to see natural predators like spiders, lady bird beetle, grasshoppers, dragonfly, preying mantis and pollinators like honey bees in their field. The plant bio-diversity was also very much affected. Earlier they cultivated food crops like cereals and millets, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton and vegetables. Now they concentrate only on cash crops- the grapes. If they get very low yield from the crop due to low fertility of the soil, they cultivate the vegetable lablab for a year. Similarly, farm animal bio-diversity is also affected in the study area. Earlier they had farm animals like cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats in large number which gave a balanced farming environment. But, now they have only limited farm animals due to many reasons. This is an obvious evident for the loss of biodiversity in the grapes cultivation area.
blood samples of human beings. Farm workers handling chemicals suffer from headache, numbness, lethargy, allergies, dermatitis, epigastric pain or blurred vision. From the enquiry it was found that the signs and symptoms that might occur while handling pesticides did not prevail 25 years ago in the study area. But now they encounter problems like giddiness, irritation of eyes, vomiting and even fainting when spraying the pesticide Donet (Table-2, 7.1, 7.2). The grapes growers handled the chemicals without necessary precautions. They did not use protective clothing’s viz., hand gloves, face masks, cap, apron, full trousers to cover the whole body while spraying. Some of them even smoke during spraying. And also it was reported by the grapes growers that as the spray men were largely affected by these hazardous chemicals and pesticides, many had quit this skilled operation. As the result during peak season they experienced shortage of spray men for taking up immediate and urgent sprays during the occurrence of epidemic diseases.
CONCLUSION
In order to overcome the environmental issues continuous learning should be promoted on organically based alternatives to pesticides by popularizing eco-friendly farming alternatives. By conducting result demonstrations farmers should be made aware of the comparative results of pure organic farming, integrated organic farming and conventional inorganic farming. Farmers might be encouraged to maintain written record of pesticides applied in a particular season, including chemical names, dose applied and total number of applications which will be helpful for the future planning of pesticides Trainings could be given to pesticide dealers about the impact of chemical pesticides on health and environment.
REFERENCES
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2. Borkar, S.G. (2007). Diseases of grapes their Forecasting and Control. Pointer publishers, Agrawal printing press, Jaipur.
3. Singh, K.K.; Patrin, M.L. and Sharma, H.C. (2000). Environmental protection and sustainable Agriculture, Intensive Agriculture, 38 (1-2): 12-16.
