Development and dissemination of vegetable IPM practices and packages in Nepal

Over- and misuse of chemical pesticides in vegetables in Nepal have brought about a renewed interest in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) both from public and research sectors. Through the support of the USAID-funded Integrated Pest Management Innovation Lab (IPM IL), full season IPM packages for important vegetable crops; tomato, cucumber and cauliflower were developed and evaluated at several locations during 2009-2014. IPM packages, which are holistic suites of IPM recommendations and practices, include seed/seedbed treatment using Trichoderma/Pseudomonas, soil solarization, roguing virus infected plants, use of nylon nets in the nursery, insect monitoring using pheromone traps, vegetable grafting against diseases, use of plastic trays and coco-peat, neem-based pesticides, bio-fertilizers, bio-control agents etc. IPM packages significantly reduce chemical pesticide use and are also economically competitive with farmer practices. In 2013, through an associate award from the USAID Mission, the Nepal program was extended to establish a structure to facilitate the technology transfer of IPM packages for high-value vegetable crops in the Feed the Future (FtF) districts in collaboration with the USAID KISAN project, and at the same time, to collaborate with private sectors to strengthen/support the supply chain of bio-products and IPM tools. More than 80 % of the farmers under the IPM IL and 42 % in the KISAN project have been recorded to have already adopted vegetable IPM practices and packages. Efforts to further expand and popularize IPM practices and technologies in vegetable growing areas are continuing.