The team of researchers in Bangalore University Microbiology department has discovered a protein which influences female reproductive physiology in crop feeding insects.Researchers say that the protein can protect the crops from being ruined by insects and can be used as an alternative of the pesticide. “Insects affect our field massively, destroy crops like coconut, tomato …it make us suffer a loss of 55 to 60 percent overall the insects causes us severe loss” said Shivanna, a farmer from Devegere Village in Bengaluru. The protein which represses the sexual activity is found within the insect and after being recognized is duplicated in the lab and fed to the insect which make them reprehensive towards sexual mating.
Tannavi Kiran, a research scholar in the microbiology and biotechnology department from Bangalore University said, “The main objective of this research is to control the crop and also to minimize the use of pesticide and insecticide …The insect if left untreated 60 to 80 percent of crop loses can happen …Global report suggest that it causes 2 billion dollars loss annually ..These proteins can be produced in bio reactors in large scale and farmers will be able to use it. ” Expert suggests that this finding is crucial to both the economical as well as the environmental aspect of farming. ‘’If we take agriculture as an ecosystem approach then we don’t need external intervention..we create a natural ecosystem so we don’t have a pesticide problem, it is solved at source at the origin itself” said Sandeep Ramakrishna, an environmentalist. Before this research based product is commercialized, it has to go under a field trial. Researchers say that it can be produced in the bioreactors in large scale and can be made accessible to the farmers.
