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Agriculture:- The Ultimate Savior

India is a land of agriculture and presently there is 159.7 million hectare arable land i.e. second largest after United State. From ancient time agriculture is the main profession of the people of India. In India agriculture is not only the profession but also the people of India see it as a way of living and they also relate it with their dignity and probity. Though it is well known, that in a developing country like India the maximum number of people depend on agriculture for their livelihood and indeed they live a dignified life.

picture.1 The younger generations of a farmers family busy transplanting rice seedlings at Ghazipur,Varanasi,UttarPradesh

Why we are saying that Agriculture is the ultimate savior? The main reason can be understand after getting some information from history about several pandemics that had been faced by the world and not only the pandemic but also World War or when there is economics crisis in the world, since the middle age, about a dozen of notable pandemics including COVID 19 outbreak and two world war which causes a massive destruction. Since 1900, there have been 8 pandemic in the world, among that some of the majors are, The Spanish flu (1918), The AIDS (1981), The MERS (2012) epidemics, West Africa Ebola (2013) and the current ongoing pandemic  COVID 19 had infected more then 110 countries of the world. The only one thing is common in these pandemic is that ultimately many of the unemployed people who lost their jobs in these pandemic fell back on Agriculture for their livelihood. Like every profession even agriculture has a limited capacity to absorb unemployed people but the main important thing is, having limited capacity, agriculture will not lead any individual to die of Starvation though it lead to increase in Hidden unemployment (prachhann berojgari).

picture 2.Two young researcher doing their research work on application of growth regulators on Allahabad Safeda Guava at Prayagraj,UttarPradesh

Pandemic had adversely affected the supply chain of the nation so that many of the necessary things are not available to number of people. They are searching for the alternative of the utmost priority goods and services but they fail to do so and they have only one hope and that is Agriculture. In the circumstances like pandemic where survival is of utmost priority and people are suffering from fear of losing job and indeed they are losing, high risk of future uncertainty, and also suffering from different abnormal mental health condition like Depression, in that circumstances agriculture has been raised like Savior to mankind. Agriculture, along with providing job, food to people and mitigating their risk of livelihood it also act as a psychiatrist because agriculture is also a medium of entertainment, one can be physically strong and fit if he/she is regularly working in field and also having healthy food.

People who had lost their job in these pandemic they are migrating from city/town to Villages as in city they don’t have any alternate job upon which the can fall. Those people who have small holding they will grow something to full fill their and family needs. And those people who are landless they will take field either on sharing or they will work as Agriculture labor. In short we can say that with limited resources agriculture may not have the capacity to full fill the unlimited wants of the people but agriculture do have capacity to satisfy the hunger of the people.

Akhilesh Kushwaha

M.Sc. Agriculture

Allahabad Agriculture University

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Use of stethoscope in early detection of plant borer: A farmer’s offering to the agrarian community

Licon Kumar Acharya
Scientist (On probation)
ICAR-National Centre for Integrated Pest Management (NCIPM)

(Pic.1.Sri Chakra Padhan demonstrating his testing plants stem using stethoscope while detection of Borer insects in Plant’s stem)

It is estimated that 20-30 % of farm produce is damaged annually due to insect attack. Borers in particular are a major threat to fruits and plantation crops causing huge reduction in yield and subsequently leads to death of the mature and bearing plant. These are a group of insects that spend part of their adult or larval life stage feeding inside roots and branches or tunnelling beneath the bark or into the heartwood of many trees and shrubs. Tunnelling cuts off the water supply and can cause foliage to be off coloured or drop prematurely, cracking of the bark and dieback of branches and twigs. Injury caused by the borers can be long lasting and moderate to heavy infestation can cause death of the plant.

An early detection of the borers can reduce the crop loss. Many attempts has been made by the scientific community as well as farmers. One of such innovative technique is developed by Mr. Chakradhar Pradhan, earning him the sobriquet “Gachhara daktar” ( Doctor of plants) in his locality. He hails from Jahnapada village in Attabira block of Bargarh. Owing to economic trouble he had to drop out from school at 13 just after completing his seventh standard. He started supporting his father in agriculture work but he never let go of his dream. At the outset he developed a passion for agriculture and always wanted to excel in is field. His passion and enthusiasm led him to start a lemon orchard on over 30 decimals of land in 1983.Much to surprise of the fellow villagers his orchard was spread over 5 acres within no time and he became a successful farmer.

To his dismay once ¾th of lemon plants started drying up and died in quick succession, leaving him devastated. Local expert in agriculture failed to find out a convincing reason. In the meantime Dr. Manoranjan Sahu, MBBS paid a visit to his orchard. He was having a stethoscope with him and that created an out of box idea to the curious mind of Mr. Chakradhar Pradhan. He thought it would be great if he can find the pest in the trees using a stethoscope.

Pic 2.Sri Chakra Padhan using stetho identify root grub insects in affected plants of lemon tree.


Surprised and amused with his idea Dr. Sahu gifted it to him and left. That day changed his life and rest is history. He started an expedition to discover something new by listening to the pulse of plant life. On examining dead plants with the stethoscope he could hear the sound of cutting which he could not hear in a healthy plant. Based on the observation he dug up the soil beneath the roots and found out insect of about 3c.m.

Excited at having discovered a cause he later came to know that the insect was root borer and it had indeed killed the plant. This identification of cause helped him to use necessary pesticide and eventually he was able to save his orchard. Initially his experiment was confined to lemon trees but later on he extended it to other plantation crops also.

This success came at cost of many struggle. Initially the villagers called him mad when they found him sitting underneath the dead lemon trees with a stethoscope to his ear. But he was adamant in his endeavour to succeed and years later his efforts were being recognised. His novel approach has been widely appreciated and has earned him many accolades. His work was documented by National Innovation Foundation(Autonomous Body of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India). Subsequently an American organisation “trees for life” had appreciated his technique and felicitated him. What began as a moment of inspiration followed by ridicule is now a novel idea for early detection of the borers.

Pic.3.During 5th National Conference on KVK at Udaipur,2010, he was highly appreciated and awarded by our former President  of India Smt.Prativa Devi Singh Patil.
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His concept can be applied to all most all perennial fruit trees such as coconut, arecanut and different species of palm and different temperate fruit trees such as Apple, Pear ,Peaches and plums which are prone with different shoot and root borer insects. This early detection of insects save the tree from death and helps the farmers to use different insecticides to save the plan

Pic.4.Sri Chakra Padhan showing his stethoscope and the grub and adult stages of Red Palm Weevil(Ryncophorus ferrugienus) in Formalin Water preserved by him.

By using stethoscope we can detect Red Palm Weevil (Ryncophorus ferrugienus) in all palm species like Coconut, Arecanut etc and helps in preventing the damage and death of the mature bearing plant’s and save the crop.

Although his innovation of early detection of root and shoot borer insects using Stethoscope is already being recognised by ICAR(INDIAN COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH) and patented by National Innovation Foundation(Autonomous Body of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India) on his name ,there is a lot of scope for further research in this area. He recommends that “Just like the medical science students are given stethoscope to measure the rate of hear beat and detects any health problems , agricultural science students should also use stethoscope to detect shoot and root borer insect in fruit and plantation crops.”

The students who are doing their research in the field of entomology; his method provides a great scope for further research of his concept of early detection by hearing the borer action sound in different fruits, vegetables, ornamental and plantation crops which are mostly affected by root and shoot borer insects. He is very kind enough to transfer his technology to the farmers and students who wish to contact him in this regard.We hope that his research in this early detection of root and shoot borer insects using stethoscope will help farmers across the world to detect the insects at early stage and save the plant from the damage and commercial loss it causes to the farmers.

(Mobile Number :91-9861697336, Sri Chakra Padhan,Janhapada,Bargarh,Odisha)

List of Photographs which provides an overview about achievments and works done by Sri Chakra Padhan (Farmer Innovator) from Janhapada village of Bargarh district of Odisha.