Quang Ngai (VNS/VNA) — Farmers in central Quang Ngai province havecome up with many ideas to protect their vegetable gardens from insects withoutusing pesticides. 

These measures are much cheaper, more eco-friendly and healthy for farmers.

Duc Loi Commune in Mo Duc district supplies a large amount of vegetablefor the province and surrounding localities.

In the past few years, many farmers have moved to organic farming due to theincreasing demand for organic produce.

However, the use of probiotics to replace pesticides is quite costly, leadingto expensive vegetable.

To deal with the issue, some farmers in the commune have started producingtheir own insecticides to protect their vegetables.

Pham Thi Dung, a farmer in An Mo village in Duc Loi commune, has a 1,000square-metre vegetable garden. She said she didn’t use pesticides in her gardenas she has another way of protecting her crops by letting the cosmosflower do the job.

“Insects are attracted to the cosmos flowers, so I plant them next to thevegetables to protect my crops,” she said.

Other flowers, such as cockscomb or midday flower are also planted in thegarden. The flowers can help reduce 70 percent of the amount of probiotics shehad previously used for her garden.   

Dung now harvests more than a tonne of vegetables monthly, bringing her morethan 8 million VND (346 USD) every month.

Le Thi Thu Lan, another farmer in the village, applies the same method to hersmall vegetable garden on the area of 250 square metres.

Farmers have also produced homemade insecticides to target insects.

Le Van Tuyen, director of Duc Loi commune’s Vegetable Cooperative, said hemixed probiotics with pineapple juice and water as a substance to protect hiscucumber, luffa and bitter melon crops.

Tuyen poured the substance into plastic bottles and hung them on vines toattract insects.

“We all feel secure when we use eco-friendly methods for our garden. Our livingenvironment, our health as well as consumers’ health are all protected,” hesaid.

Farmer Huynh Tien Dung has another recipe. He soaks garlic, ginger andchilli in alcohol to get the extract and sprays it on his vegetablegarden.

He also designs a sticky trap and hangs it on the vines to trap insects. 

This method, together with weeding, digging soil and picking up worms onleaves, has saved him a lot of money and protected his crops.

Tuyen said each farmer could earn about 7 million each 360 square metres permonth, giving them a stable income.

The communal People’s Committee said it would help find buyers for organicvegetables and provide seedlings and fertiliser to encourage local farmers toexpand./.