Many organic farmers face problems when it comes to pest and disease control. It is the rule of nature that anything that grows vigorously is sure to attract pests and diseases. That is the way probably, the nature controls imbalance.
But we are selective about what should grow and what should not 😉
If what Dr. Krishan Chandra claims is true, his magical solution would ensure vigorous growth of plants. But what about insects and diseases that may try to check this vigorous growth? We don’t want them!
Dr. Krishan Chandra has a solution to that problem also. Some of his ideas are known to many organic farmers, but some are new.
Dr. Krishan Chandra suggests three ways to control diseases and pests. Let me explain these one by one.
The simplest method is to spray the bacterial solution directly to the plant foliage. But you may wonder, as I did, how does spraying bacterial solution to the leaves help? Afterall, the bacteria thrive only in the soil and the leaves cannot consume them directly, unlike foliar feeding of fertilizers.
Dr. Krishan Chandra says that the enzymes that the bacteria produce, stimulate the leaves to produce chemicals to protect themselves both from diseases as well as pests. So, the bacterial solution indirectly improves the natural resistance of the leaves to diseases and pests.
But before you spray the solution, make sure that it is diluted and not concentrated. A concentrated solution can burn the leaves because of the organic acids produced by the bacteria. Dr. Krishan Chandra says that 1:3 is a good dilution ratio.
Dr. Chandra has another ingenious solution. In any normal garden there will be many weeds that grow naturally. Controlling these weeds itself is a problem sometimes. Even if the main plants suffer by disease and get infested by pests, these weeds generally thrive unabatedly.
Have you wondered why?
These weeds have somehow developed resistance to these diseases and pests. Dr. Chandra wants to encash on this natural adaptation. What he suggests is to take some of those weeds, chop them into tiny pieces, tie the pieces in a thin cloth, and keep the cloth bundle dipped in the bacterial solution for a week or ten days.
In a matter of ten days, these chopped leaves get decomposed. All that you have to do is to squeeze the cloth bundle and extract the juice. This juice would have the chemicals that protected the weeds from pests and diseases. Now use this enriched solution for spraying as you did in the previous case. Of course, after sufficient dilution.
Dr. Chandra does not go into the reason behind its working.
I guess that it may work for two reasons.
The chemicals that were produced naturally by the weeds, that gave them the resistance, get transferred to our plants. So, they get protected even though they may not be able to produce those chemicals naturally. The other reason is that when you spray these leaf extracts, our plants may also start smelling like weeds, and confuse the pests. The pests may mistake them for weeds and keep away!
A very clever idea! You get rid of the weeds and at the same time protect the useful plants. Two birds in one stone throw. But does it really work? We will have to try and verify.
Supposing, both these methods fail. What next?
Dr. Chandra adds other things to this list as well. He suggests using spicy hot chilies, pungent garlic, antibacterial turmeric, toxic fruits such as Datura, also called Devil’s Trumpets, and so on.
Dr. Chandra also suggests that addition of some natural glue or resin to the spray can act as a binding agent and make the spray more effective.
A word of caution. If you use any of these toxic substances, make sure that you thoroughly wash the leaves or fruits before you consume them. These things may not be lethal, but can cause harm.
Hopefully, these methods work!
Let us continue our discussion in the next episode.
A series of weekly (every Monday 12 PM PST) talks on new ways of Gardening by Dr. King. © Dr. King 2019
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