CSIR has found a lipid compound to reduce the wastage of pesticides by slippage.
What is CSIR?
The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is India’s contemporary R&D organization.
It is known for its cutting edge R&D knowledgebase in diverse S&T areas.
CSIR’s R&D expertise and experience is embodied in about 4600 active scientists supported by about 8000 scientific and technical personnel.
It provides significant technological intervention in many areas with regard to societal efforts which include environment, health, drinking water, food, housing, energy, Farm and non-farm sectors.
How CSIR’s recent innovation will reduce pesticide wastage?
The CSIR has identified a lipid compound known as Glyceryl-Mono-Oleate (GMO), a natural wax-like solid extracted from sunflower oil.
The structure of this compound is that it’s one end is hydrophilic (water-attracting) and the other end is hydrophobic (water-repelling).
When this compound is mixed with pesticides, the liquid sticks to the leaves and doesn’t fall off to the ground.
When the solution was sprayed the lipid GMO nanoparticles rush to the leaf surface and quickly spread out to make a thin film on the leaves.
This thin film is hydrophilic on the outside and hydrophobic on the inside resulting in the water-pesticide mix sticking strongly on the leaves.
What is the significance of this innovation?
The pesticides are sprayed on to the crops which increases its slippage into the ground.
This residue of pesticides then leeches to the ground, mixes with the water cycle and the food chain which has long term consequences for man.
From economical point, large of amount of pesticides have to be sprayed to keep the plants away from insects and pests.
Since, the pesticides don’t stick to the leaf, farmers locally mix pesticides with soap water which is not a viable solution.
This forced the scientists to work on finding a solution for this small yet significant problem and found an innovative solution which is safe for the whole ecosystem.
