-Down to Earth A few villages in Haryana successfully grow cotton amid widespread destruction of the crop by whitefly in the region LOOK HERE, the red pest you see is Chrysopa,” says an excited Manisha, while navigating through her cotton field in Haryana’s Nidana village. “A single Chrysopa, a carnivorous pest, eats around 125-150 whiteflies a day,” says the 24-year-old. Further ahead in her 0.8-hectare cotton plantation, she picks another plant leaf...

-The Week Shambhu Kumar, 8, quite liked his job as a domestic help in a small town in Assam. He had to mind two children nearly his age, keep an eye on the ducks and be available for chores all day. It wasn't too hard, and he was well fed, too, though he missed his grandmother, a tea garden labourer. One day, some women from the state education department came to the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The fertiliser ministry is likely to soon recommend a ban on the use of a pesticides that are harmful for bees, particularly honeybees. Fertilizer minister Ananth Kumar on Monday said one such pesticide which is being used across the country has been banned in other countries. Kumar said he will write to the agriculture ministry to ban its use. He did not name the pesticide. But...

-The Business Standard This is to minimize the use of chemicals, pesticides and insecticides Bhopal: State government has geared up to protect honeybees that help humans in plant Pollination. Growing use of pesticides and insecticides is posing a serious threat to the bees and thereby human lives. "We have to protect the bees or else there will be a threat to human lives. If there will be no bees there will be no...

-The Hindu Mumbai: The season of the king of fruits - Alphonso mangoes - has finally arrived, but not with a bang. This year, varying weather conditions have led to a loss of at least 60 per cent crop, say farmers. But the customers may not feel the pinch till the end of May, as the peak season is to begin only next month. "I expect the prices to come down next...