This paper attempts to analyse the determinants and impact of adoption of IPM practices in groundnut. This study is a part of a project "Assessment of Adoption and Impact of IPM in Rainfed Crops" funded by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

One of the natural resources from the treasure house of plant kingdom is the Neem tree. The tree is virtually a gift of nature to mankind because of its multiple properties that have high utility value both at domestic and farm level beside its products being eco-friendly and bio-degradable. Gandhi and Patel (1997) conducted a survey in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat regarding the farmer's awareness about the impact of pesticides and reported it to be limited to the immediate surroundings.

In recent decades, the introduction of fertilizer and irrigation responsive high yielding dwarf varieties of rice have resulted in more widespread and intensive use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides. The indiscriminate use of such chemical agents led to a wide array of problems and has forced mankind to consider safer ways of crop production and protection. Many such approaches are, in fact, practices that our ancestors had employed for centuries.

Traditional farming practices have been developed by agrarian societies in particular ecological setting. Sustainability in these systems has been derived after a long tenure through trial and error with crops and practices. Most of the practices of traditional farmers for disease management in developing countries consist of cultural control. Some of the traditional practices of practical importance adopted by the farmers of semiarid and arid Rajasthan which include districts of Barmer, Jodhpur, Pali and Jaipur are discussed in this paper. Dec 2007

Sugarcane farmers in Alnavar near Dharwad in Karnataka state are no more worried about the insect

The Farmer Field School (FFS) approach has become wellknown after the positive experiences seen in Indonesia and other Asian countries. In this article we describe how the "conventional' IPM Farmer Field School approach has been modified in the South Indian dryland agriculture context, in order to suit the needs and problems of farmers in this area. Dec 2007

Rats eat our crops, contaminate our stored food, damage our buildings and possessions and spread dangerous diseases to people and livestock. Compared to insect pests, controlling rats and mice can seem difficult. Experience has shown, however, that armed with the right knowledge and tools it is possible to sustainably reduce pest rodent populations in a cost-beneficial way. In recent years, applied research on ecologically-based rodent management (EBRM) has taken place in many countries throughout Asia and Africa. Dec 2007

A German ornithologist reported that a single pair of Tits destroys, annually, at least 120 million insect eggs or 150000 caterpillars and pupae. The contribution of birds in controlling and managing insect pests in agricultural crops has not been recognized by farmers as well as agricultural scientists in general. Birds are good indicators of agro-biodiversity and an important group of life forms in any ecosystem. Dec 2007

Farmers' traditional methods for managing the potato late blight in the Meghalaya hills are successful examples of ecological disease management and an established outcome of traditional experimentations. Such farmers' wisdom ought to be given attention in formal research systems. Dec 2007