Young Entomologist Leads Campaign in Chitwan Promoting Biological Pest Control Amid Chemical Overuse Concerns

Chitwan. Amid the severe crisis posed to human health and the environment by the uncontrolled use of chemical pesticides in Nepal's agricultural sector, young entomologist Nisha Subedi from Bharatpur, Chitwan, is actively engaged in a campaign for pest management using biological alternatives.

Subedi, who completed her Master of Science in Agriculture (M.Sc. Ag.) in Entomology from the Agriculture and Forestry University, has begun taking the knowledge from her studies and research beyond certificates and into the fields of farmers and the classrooms of students.

According to Subedi, there is a growing and dangerous practice among farmers of spraying chemical pesticides as a precautionary measure against potential pest infestation before it even occurs, or using harsh chemicals immediately upon seeing just one or two pests in the field. This indiscriminate use, often due to a lack of technical knowledge about which pesticide is suitable for which pest, risks developing 'Pesticide Resistance' in pests and destroying beneficial insects, leading to a more intense 'Pest Resurgence' of harmful pests.

These chemicals persist in the soil and water sources for years, disrupting environmental balance, and entering the human body through food, causing serious health damage. Subedi states that the research she conducted for two years during her postgraduate studies is the main source of inspiration for her dedication to this public awareness campaign.

Subedi studied the efficacy of using biological fungi (Entomopathogenic Fungi) as a safe alternative to harmful chemical pesticides in managing the Fall Armyworm. Her research was completed under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Sundar Tiwari, Associate Prof. Dr. Minraj Pokharel, and Assistant Prof. Tej Narayan Bhusal.

During her research, she was involved in a project conducted in collaboration with USAID, Virginia Tech, USA, iDE Nepal, NMRP, and AFU. Special assistance in this process was provided by Dr. Rangaswamy Muniappan from Virginia Tech, Lalit Sah from iDE Nepal, and lab technician Tikaram Bagale, along with colleagues involved in the project: Shrisha Bist, Bhavana Regmi, and Laxman Chaudhary.

Within this project at the Agriculture and Forestry University, research was conducted on the effectiveness of fungi (Metarhizium rileyi) and parasitic wasps (Telenomus remus, Trichogramma Chilonis) in managing the Fall Armyworm. The parasitic wasps (Telenomus remus, Trichogramma Chilonis) proved very effective in managing the Fall Armyworm eggs, while the fungus (Metarhizium rileyi) was effective in managing the Fall Armyworm larvae.

During this research, Subedi scientifically proved, for the first time in the context of Nepal, that the fungus named Metarhizium rileyi is effective in controlling the Fall Armyworm. This significant finding of hers has also been published in the prestigious Indian Journal of Entomology.

After successfully completing her research, Subedi joined the second phase of the project. The main objective of this project, supported by USAID, PennState USA, PlantVillage, PlantVillage Nepal, and the Agriculture and Forestry University, was to mass-produce parasitic wasps (Telenomus remus, Trichogramma Chilonis) and the fungus (Metarhizium rileyi) in the laboratory and test their effectiveness in managing the Fall Armyworm in farmers' maize fields.

In this phase, Subedi worked on the fungus, similar to the first phase. The team for this project included university experts Prof. Dr. Sundar Tiwari, Prof. Dr. Min Raj Pokhrel, Prof. Dr. Shiva Chandra Dhakal, Prof. Dr. Arjun Kumar Shrestha, Assistant Prof. Ananta Mani Bhattarai, Bipana Paudel Timilsina from PennState, Sushmita Sharma from PlantVillage, Prof. Dr. Hirakaji Manandhar, and university lab technician Tikaram Bagale, along with Ram Kishori in accounting.

Nisha is now conducting a free public awareness campaign among farmers and students in Bharatpur with the 'breakthrough' knowledge gained from the research. Her commendable work of taking laboratory research and technical skills to the farmers' fields to provide service offers further hope for safe and pesticide-free agriculture.