LisaH@citizensparty.org

I am a researcher for a non-profit organisation in Hong Kong currently doing some work for the Asian Development Bank on environment mobilisation in Asian countries. I have read about the Honey Bee in books and your web site and am very impressed with what you have achieved. I would like to feature this, in the report I am writing which looks at good examples of environmental education/ mobilisation and factors behind their success.

(Good that you want to include Honey Bee stories in your review. As you might know that Honey Bee database is one of the world’s largest database of its kind. We are very keen to forge links with other groups trying to augment grassroots innovations. : Ed)

Pulses are often attacked by bruchids such as Callosorbruchus chinensis. After harvesting the crop, the bruchid is carried to storage facilities where it develops rapidly resulting in considerable seed damage and loss within a few months. Application of a small quantity (1-2 drops) of any one of the oils obtained from plants such as Mentha spicata, Mentha arvensis or Mentha piperita on the lid or inside the small pots prevents the entry of bruchids from outside. And even if the bruchids are able to enter the pot, their egg laying capacity is severely affected by these oils. Gunny bags are used by the farmers for bulk storage of cowpea seeds. For prophylactic-treatment, these bags are soaked in 15 per cent concentration of leaf extracts of Pongamia pinnata or Justicia gendarussa.

Answer to the question by Yasmine Mirza in Hb11(1) about keeping bats away.

Create smoke below the tree which is the roosting site of bats. The smoke from the fire will irritate the bats and they will fly away. 

The fire should be in a confined and controllable manner. Repeat this remedy for five to six days so that the bats learn not to return.

I am happy to inform you that I have developed a herbal pesticide against coconut insects like scale insects (Aspooditous destructor), mealy bug (Pseudococus sp), mites (Eriophyes guerronis). The pesticide is named ‘Phytoplam’ and is made of extracts and products of ten different herbs. I am really surprised to note that it is able to kill and repel a number of soft bodied grubs and larvae of many other insects in the annual crop plants. It has no polluting effects and spares pollinating insects. I am very much interested in bringing to the notice of your foundation for recognition.

I read the use of Jamun tree for purifying water, sent by, Lalit Das IPS of Jagatsinghpur, Orissa. In our area, whenever a well is dug, first a ring of Jamun or Neem wood is put in the lower portion of the well. Then the well is constructed above this ring with bricks or stones. It is done for purification of water. Its speciality is that the water does not have any negative effect on the Jamun or Neem wood for as long as 100 years.

I am working with a small NGO at Nadia District, West Bengal. I am a regular reader of Honey Bee for last one and a half year. Let me first acknowledge Shri Lalit Das contribution to Honey Bee 11(1). If the inner lining of the well is lined with logs of Jamun tree the water is very tasty and it acts a appetiser.