Insecticides India launches new products for Punjab farmers

Agro-chemical firm Insecticides India today said it has launched new products for cost effective control against pests and diseases for farmers in Punjab.

The products will help farmers get better yields from paddy, cotton, pulses, vegetables and other crops, the company officials said here.

The products - Encounter, Sofia and Aikido - will offer cost effective solutions to farmers in Punjab, Rajesh Aggarwal, MD, Insecticides India, told reporters here.

He said the company's insecticide Encounter helps fight lepidopteron and sucking pest together in important crops like paddy, pulses and vegetables.

This product is especially suited for Punjab as it helps fight pests in paddy and vegetable crops, Aggarwal said.

Aikido has been launched in technical collaboration with Nihon Nohyaku, Japan, the company official said, adding the product gives complete protection from brown plant hoppers (BPH), white plant hoppers (WBPH) and leaf folder, which destroy about 25-30 per cent per cent of paddy crop in the country every year.

Other than paddy, Aikido is also found effective on vegetables, he said.

Sofia gives broad spectrum control against various diseases in crops.

"All these products give long duration control, they save cost for farmers. We have developed these products as a solution for farmers. Sometimes, farmers mix 2-3 products on their own, which are non-scientific mixtures, they put overdose of some product, underdose of some product, which does not work ultimately," he said.

Replying to a question, Aggarwal said "sometimes, farmers also delay usage of agro chemicals thus increasing pest infestation to a level that things don't work that effectively or they use chemicals just by seeing the others".