DROUGHT conditions triggered a pest attack in 12 paddy growing districts of Orissa. The swarming caterpillars (Spodoptera mauritia) ruined crops on 89,000 hectares (ha) of the four million ha under paddy cultivation in the state. Sambalpur district was the worst affected; paddy crops on nearly 33,000 ha were destroyed by the pest, called leda poka in Orissa. In Malkangiri district,

KALPETTA: With the season of butterfly migration nearing, nature lovers and experts are a worried lot.

Mindless use of pesticides and chemicals for farming in the district causes widespread destruction of the butterfly population, according to environmentalists.

Hotels, motels and even homes in the US are infested by bed bugs fifty years ago the United States promised itself a good night

CH Prashanth Reddy / Hyderabad August 07, 2009, 0:07 IST

The Indian pesticides industry is eagerly looking forward to August 15. Not for the usual celebration of the Independence Day, but for a different reason. It expects the monsoon to recover by this time. If not, its bottom line this year would be hit.

There is need for both organic and inorganic food