Iranian Researchers Find Solution for Mass Production of Pesticide-Free Apples
“In this plan, no chemical poisons are used to control pests and diseases,” Ahmad Ashuri, Professor of the faculties of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Tehran (UT) said in an interview with the Iranian media.
“The project is based on a detailed planning for tracking and timely response to known pests, and using well-known scientific models such as the ‘degree-day’ model via which the development period and the exact time of the occurrence of pests are accurately calculated. Finally the plan will be able to find out the pest and then determine natural and biological pesticides available in the market” he added.
“With a detailed planning in this project, we limited a group of factors that caused the contamination of apple orchards,” the professor also said, adding “This plan was carried out in the form of an integrated pest management plan by the UT agricultural and natural resources faculties, and after two years of monitoring and tracking in 2021, we were able to produce 400 tons of clean and healthy apples of the yellow Lebanese type in Zanjan and East Azerbaijan provinces," Ashuri went on to say.
"Mass production of this product was the result of a management program that was successfully implemented in cooperation between the UT herbal medicine department, two private companies and two orchard owners,” he further said.
“In this project, we did not use any chemical fertilizers or poisons, and all the substances used to fight disease and repel pests were biological. In fact, by using integrated pest management, we were able to produce this product in a healthy way.”
“The biological materials used in this plan are available in the market and all orchardists can easily obtain these materials and produce a healthy product with a detailed and managed plan,” he underscored.
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