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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Farmers spraying crops with animal hormone -Syed Akbar

Farmers spraying crops with animal hormone -Syed Akbar

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published Published on Aug 22, 2015   modified Modified on Aug 22, 2015
-The Times of India

HYDERABAD: Desperate to save the standing crop in the face of severe drought, paddy farmers have turned to the animal hormone Oxytocin to salvage the Khariff yield. Oxytocin, which is widely used by farmers in a bid to artificially promote growth in fruits and vegetables, has been banned for use in agriculture and animal husbandry. 

According to researchers in Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University here, paddy farmers who have lost a major portion of their standing crop due to prolonged dry spell, are testing their luck by spraying oxytocin in the fields. This is the first time that farmers are using the non-plant hormone with the hope of pumping up the growth process in paddy plants. But health experts warn that this could be catastrophic not only for paddy cultivation but also for people who consume the produce. Since oxytocin is being used for the first time in paddy, experts point out that it is difficult to predict how the hormone will react in the paddy plant. 

It was only on Wednesday that the Hyderabad High Court had come down heavily on the practice of adding chemicals to artificially enhance growth of fruits. A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Dilip B Bhosale called those responsible for such malpractices "worse than terrorists" and asked governments of the twin states to crack down on fruit-growers and sellers who use calcium carbide to ripen fruits unnaturally. 

" Oxytocin should not be used in agriculture or horticulture. It is basically an animal hormone. Oxytocin, if taken in heavy dosage, may lead to nervous breakdown and even cause blood-clotting. It also causes irregular heartbeat and seizures," warned clinical dietician M Gayathri of Apollo Hospitals, Hyderguda, in the city. Even the minor side effects are severe - they include swelling of the mouth, face, lips and tongue, she added. 

Contradicting farmers' notion, agricultural scientists argue that oxytocin will not promote vegetative growth. At best it can help inflorescence from withering away. " It is illegal to use oxytocin in agriculture and even in animal husbandry. It induces forced rather than natural growth. Since an animal hormone is used in a plant, we do not know what turn it will take at the genetic or molecular level. But the harmful effects are obvious," said senior researcher Dr C Srinivas of Prof Jayashankar Agricultural University. 

Sources said paddy farmers, who largely depend on canal irrigation, have turned to oxytocin after 50 per cent of the standing crop had withered away. Farmers in Khammam, Warangal and Nizamabad in Telangana and Krishna, East and West Godavari, Kurnool, and Guntur districts in Andhra Pradesh are clandestinely using the banned hormone. 

Agriculture scientist Dr A Kiran Kumar told TOI that the Telangana government's agriculture department has taken up campaign against the use of oxytocin. " Farmers do not approach us when they use banned or harmful chemicals. They go by the advice of private agri firms who are ready to reap a fortune by fishing in troubled waters. Since it is done secretly and without the knowledge of farm extension scientists, it is difficult to estimate the quantum of oxytocin used in paddy," he said. 

The paddy ryots' desperation for oxytocin can be gauged from the fact that only 54 per cent of the normal crop area has been sown so far this Khariff in Andhra Pradesh. In case of Telangana, it is slightly better with 76 per cent of the area sown. The sowings for Khariff season 2015 officially came to an end on Thursday and any sowings from now onwards will not be viable. 

The Times of India, 21 August, 2015, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Farmers-spraying-crops-with-animal-hormone/articleshow/48566524.cms


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