Rat menace curbed with bromodile

Peethapuram: Farmers have been able to effectively decimate rats in their paddy fields by baiting them with bromodile, a rodenticide, which was supplied free of cost by the agriculture department. Joint Director K S Prasad told The Hans India that 1,764 kg of Bromodile costing Rs.19 lakh was supplied free of cost to farmers to cover 1.6 lakh hectares.

The rats are causing a loss of five to seven bags of yield per acre, according to the department officials. There is a threat of the rats chewing the entire crop, if such measures are not taken to control the damage.

The agriculture department staff is implementing plans to achieve better results by organising awareness programmes for farmers, right from the sowing stage. In addition to free supply of Bromodile, the department is training the farmers on methods to mix it the rodenticide with broken rice and oil.

They are organising farmers at the gram panchayat level to make them use the mix at the same time. This would prevent escape of rats from one field to another.

Five grams of the rodenticide is sufficient to cover 7,200 acres, said PDP Padmasri and AO Satyanarayana. They explained that rats can be killed by using machines and bio-chemicals. In the bio-chemical method 10gm of Bromodile is mixed with 480 gm of broken rice.

The mix should be left in packs of 5gm each during evening hours in fields. The water use at that time should be reduced.

Farmers are expressing happiness over the efforts of the department in controlling the rate menace. They point out that previously bamboo traps were arranged for killing rats, each costing Rs.50.

Naga Maheswara Rao, a farmer, said that the menace has been curbed by adopting the mass elimination method. As a result, at least two bags of produce per acre could be saved, he said.