SWISS ORGANIC SPRAY
What is Swiss Organic Spray (SOS)?
SOS is an organic spray developed with Homeopathic Principles
It helps in preventing considerable damage to crops from insect pests
It can be used as preventive measure against fungal pathogens causing blights and rots of many horticultural and agricultural crops
SOS is a multipurpose organic spray which is a repellent bio- pesticide, fungicide, growth promoter and soil conditioner
How Does SOS Work Against Insect Pests?
It acts as REPELLENT against many insect pests due to its odour and ingredients
SOS acts as an ANTIFEEDENT: Many insects don’t eat plant parts sprayed with SOS. It also kills the hunger in insect pests.
SOS disrupts the growth cycle of insects
SOS inhibits reproduction in insects, which results in low populations and lower crop damage.
Insects are not able to breed or lay eggs on plants sprayed with SOS.
Why Use Swiss Organic Spray (SOS)?
It is an environment-friendly product
It is absorbed by plant parts and does not pollute air, water, and soil
It can be used against various insect pests and diseases in organically grown horticultural and agricultural crops
It reduces the cost of spray as insect pests and pathogens are not able to adapt to the ingredients of SOS
It can be used in an integrated pest management (IPM) system
The spray mixture is brown chocolate colour in salty base
SOS can be used against Insect pests such as Aphid, White fly, Thrips, Caterpillars, Stem Borers¸ Leaf miner, Jassid, Lal bhundi, and Fruit fly on various horticultural and agricultural crops
SOS can also be used against fungal diseases such as leaf spots, blights, powdery mildews, downy mildews, and rots of many horticultural and agricultural crops
Recommended spray doses and timings
Crops
Insect-pests and diseases
Spray dilution ratio and timings
cabbage, spinach (palak). lettuce, broccoli, Cauliflower, carrot, radish, turnip. peas, onion, garlic
Pests: Aphid, , thrips, leaf miner cut worms, stem borer, caterpillar, walan wali sundi
Diseases: black spots, Alternaria blight, downy mildew, Purple blotch, powdery mildew
1: 100
Spray at 10-15 days interval
potato, tomato, chillies
Pests: Jassid, Aphid, caterpillar, white fly
Diseases: early blight, late blight, leaf spot, leaf curl
1: 80
Spray at 10-15 days interval
Muskmelon, water melon, chappan kadu, ghia kadu, bitter gourd, petha, tinda
Pests: Lal bhundi, aphid, thrips, fruit fly
Diseases: Powdery mildew, downy mildew, blight
1: 80
Spray at 10-15 days interval
Mustard, toria, groundnut, sunflower, soybean
Pests: Aphid, , thrips, leaf miner cut worms, caterpillars, walan wali sundi
Diseases: Alternaria blight, early leaf spot, late leaf spot, downy mildew, rust
1:100
Spray at 10-15 days interval
Gram, pigeon pea (arhar), moong bean, mash
Pests: Aphid, cut worms, caterpillars
Diseases:Blight, leaf spots
1: 80
Spray at 10-15 days interval
Wheat, rice, cotton
Pests: Aphid, cut worms, caterpillars, American sundi, white fly
Diseases: Alternaria blight, blast, leaf spots
1:100
Spray at 10-15 days interval
Grapes, guava, citrus, strawberry, mango, ber, banana, papaya
Diseases: Anthracnose, Cercospora leaf spot, powdery mildew, scab, fruit rot and fruit drop, black spot
1:100
Spray at 10-15 days interval
NOTE: For dilution ratio of 1: 80. mix 200 ml of SOS with 16 liters of water
For dilution ratio of 1: 100. mix 160 ml of SOS with 16 liters of water
*A periodic spray with SOS is the best way to prevent or greatly reduce damage from insect-pests and diseases.
Directions for Use of SOS
Mix SOS thoroughly in water before spray
Prepare fresh mixture before every spray
Start spraying it at pest or disease appearance as it is most effective in the early stages
Spray at 7 to 10 days interval
Spray SOS during evening time
Comparison between Chemical Insecticides and Swiss organic Spray
Chemical
Swiss Organic Spray
Harmful for Humans, animals and Birds. Not harmful for Humans, Birds and Insects.
Kills friendly insects also. Destroyes only the enemy insects.
Insects have adapted themselves to these chemical pesticides and recurrent sprays have added poison in our current food chain. Insects are not able tadapt themselves to the SOS and thereby it reduces the cost and recurrent need to spray again.
The chemicals are absorbed by Air, water and Earth and therefore pollute them and affecting our life cycles as well. SOS is environment Friendly Product and does not create pollution.
Destroyes the nutrient value of Food Crop and which in turn fails to find suitable minatory value in the International Market. SOS helps in retaining the Nutrient Value of the food crop thereby increasing the monetary value of the Food grain in the International Market.
Other Properties
Operator safety
Ease of handling and use
Flexible integration into farming methods.
Fungicidal for
Potato
Late Blite- Early Blite –Scab-Pited Scar-Deap Scab-Shalow Scab- Fusarium Dry Rot-Pythum Leak-Scletotium Rolfsii-Stem Rot.
Virus of Potato- Patato- Leaf Role
Virus –Potato Virus X- Potato Virus Y
Wart Disease of Potato
Tea
Fungal Diseases of Tea
BLISTER BLIGHT caused by the fungus Exobasidium
Vexans
The fungus attacks young succulent growth on all teas especially when the environment is foggy, moist and
Cool. It is characterized by blister like lesions on the leaves.
GREY BLIGHT AND DIE BACK OF SHOOTS,caused by Pestalotiopsis theae
Brown zonate leaf blight caused by Ceuthospora lauri
Bud blight caused by Phoma theicola
Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum theae-sinensis
bird's-eye spot, characterized by dark, round spots surrounded by lighter tissue.
Black root rot caused by Rosellinia arcuata
Dieback caused by Leptothyrium theae
Leaf scab caused by Elsinoë theae
Net blister blight caused by Exobasidium reticulatum
Red leaf spot caused by Phoma theicola
Red rust (alga) caused by Cephaleuros virescens. It is characterized by a rusty appearanceof the leaves or twigs
Sclerotial blight caused by Sclerotium rolfsii
White spot caused by Phyllosticta theifolia
Rice
Blast of Basmati Rice –Leaf Blite
Helmintho Sprium –Long Disease of rice
Ingredients
TARENTULA -CUBENIS CUBIN SPIDER
LECITHIN
LACHESIS
APIS MELLIFICA -THE HONEY BEE
NAJA
ACONITE EXCIPIENT
USE OF HOMEOPATHIC FORMULATIONS IN TEA CULTIVATION: SWISS ORGANIC SPRAY
Anjali Pathak
Swiss Organic Spray is a homeopathic broad spectrum spray in which highly diluted and potentized homeopathic medicines are used as active ingredients. This spray has been developed by Dr. R. P. Shukla of Khanna, Punjab who has been in the field of homeopathy for the past 31 years. These medicines are active against parasites, viruses and insects but not detectable in lab analysis. For detection different mother tinctures are used in different ratios. Homeopathic natural pesticides strengthen a plant’s own vital force, balances the soil pH and works at solving the problem through a holistic approach.
Today, of the chemical pesticides that are being used on fields, farms and plantations, less than 1% reach the target organism. The rest end up contaminating the soil, air, water, plants and animals. Furthermore while farmers and growers are using three times the agricultural chemicals today than they did fifty years ago, we are still losing one third of our crops to pests and diseases which is about the same as fifty years ago. A new approach to the problem of pest and diseases in agriculture is thus needed.
The harmful effects of chemically grown crops are as follows:
i)Contamination of soil and food
ii)Depletion of ground water and its contamination
iii)Bad effect on health of humans, poultry and livestock
iv)Increasing costs of chemical inputs
v)Mutations of various pests and organisms leading to a loosing battle against pest attack
vi)Reduction in the population of micro flora, humus content and natural predators
In the past fifty years, the intensive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides has depleted the soil and water resources and has impacted the heath of consumers, leading to an increase in the incidence of diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and allergies. Organic farming is the need of the day to preserve human health and the environment.
The main objectives of organic farming are:
i)Enhance biological diversity within the ecosystem
ii)Increase soil biological activity
iii)Maintain long term soil fertility
iv)Recycle plant and animal waste
v)Rely on renewable resources
vi)Promote healthy use of soil, water and air and minimize all forms of pollution
vii)Handle agricultural products with emphasis on carful processing methods in order to maintain organic integrity and vital qualities of the product at all stages
These objectives can be attained by using eco-friendly remedies such a homeopathic formulations for controlling various pests and diseases that affect agriculture.
Homeopathic natural pesticides have enormous potential as follows:
i)Preservation of natural ecology
ii)Low cost
iii)Do not damage predators and beneficial soil organisms
iv)Pollution factor is zero
v)Safe for humans, livestock and plants
vi)No crop residues
viii)Easy storage as it is non-flammable
viii)Do not injure micro flora and fauna
ix)Ideal for aerial spray
x)Restore damaged soils and help build healthy soils for healthy crops
Mode of action: Homeopathic natural pesticides are contact and systemic pesticides. They cause suffocation which results in the mortality of the pest. They also act as insect repellents and growth regulators.
It can take between 24 hours to seven days for the results to show in the field. A lot depends on the type of insects being targeted and the severity of infestation.
Comparison between chemical sprays and Swiss organic spray
Chemical sprays
Swiss Organic spray
Harmful for humans, birds and animals
Neutral for humans, bird and animals
Kills friendly insects also
Destroys only the harmful insects
Insects have adapted themselves to these chemical pesticides and recurrent sprays have added poison in our current food chain
Insects are not able to adept to the Swiss organic spray. Therefore heavy, repeated spraying is not needed
The chemicals are absorbed by air, water and earth leading to pervasive pollution and affecting the life cycle of humans as well
It is environment friendly and does not create pollution
Destroy the nutrient value of crops and lowers values of agricultural produce in the international market
It helps in retaining the nutrient value of food crops thereby increasing their value in the international market
Salient features of Swiss Organic Spray:
i)It is a multipurpose spray which is a biopesticide, fungicide, growth promoter and soil conditioner rolled into one
ii)It acts as a repellent against many pests due to its odour and active ingredients
iii)It acts as an antifeedant for insects. Many insects do not eat plants sprayed with this organic spray.
iv)It disrupts the growth cycle of insects
v)It inhibits reproduction in insects which results in lower insect populations and thus lower crop damage
vi)Insects are not able to breed or lay eggs on plants sprayed with this organic spray
vii)It can be used against aphids, white fly, thrips, caterpillars, stem borers,leaf miners, jassids, fruit fly, loopers, red spider mite, helopeltis etc.
viii)It can also be used against fungal diseases such as leaf spots, blights, powder mildew, downy mildew, and rots
Dilution: Swiss Organic Spray needs to be used as a 1% solution. Simply dissolve 1 litre of Swiss Organic Spray in 100 litres of water and spray directly on the crops.
Periodicity of application
Swiss organic spray should be applied at seven to ten day intervals for best results
Time of application
It is best to spray this just before sunset or early in the morning at sunrise
Composition of Swiss Organic Spray
Name of component
Physical state of component
Percent addition (%)
Tarentula cubenis
Liquid
14 to 24
Lecithin
Liquid
18 to 27
Lachesis
Liquid
20 to 22
Apis mellifica
Liquid
16 to 25
Naja
Liquid
17 to 23
Aconite excipient
Liquid
15 to 25
Method of preparation
All the above ingredients are blended in the given proportion by the use of a blending vessel to formulate a concentrated solution. 30% of this concentrated solution is finally dispersed in 70% of water to formulate the Swiss Organic Spray.
Use of Swiss Organic Spray by Indian tea industry:
Dr. R. P. Shukla has been working on the role of homeopathy in agriculture for the past eight years. His focus was mainly on cotton , wheat , paddy, vegetables and fruits. Since the last two years he has been in close contact with tea gardens in West Bengal, and in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. Dr. Shukla has closely observed the effect of homeopathic medicines on tea bushes especially on fungal diseases.
Traditionally tea planters have been using fungicides which are synthetic poisons and are harmful for the plants and soil while contaminating the whole atmosphere. When growers spray these synthetic chemicals on plants, only 2% is absorbed by plants and the remaining 98% contaminates the soil, air and water. The major fungal diseases of tea are given below:
i)Blister blight caused by the fungus Exobasidium Vexans
The fungus attacks young succulent growth on all teas especially when the environment is foggy, moist and cool. It is characterized by blister like lesions on the leaves.
ii)Grey blight and dieback of shoots caused by Pestalotiopsis theae
iii)Brown zonate leaf blight caused by Ceuthospora lauri
iv)Bud blight caused by Phoma theicola
v)Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum theae-sinensis
bird’s-eye spot, characterized by dark, round spots surrounded by lighter tissue.
vi)Black root rot caused by Rosellinia arcuata
vii)Dieback caused by Leptothyrium theae
viii)Leaf scab caused by Elsinoë theae
ix)Net blister blight caused by Exobasidium reticulatum
x)Red leaf spot caused by Phoma theicola
xi)Red rust (alga) caused by Cephaleuros virescens. It is characterized by a rusty appearance of the leaves or twigs
xii)Sclerotial blight caused by Sclerotium rolfsii
xiii)White spot caused by Phyllosticta theifolia
Swiss organic spray has been used in the tea gardens of the Islampur area of North Bengal, Palampur in Himachal Pradesh and in the tea growing areas of north Sikkim. The results achieved with Swiss Organic Spray in all these areas were encouraging and satisfactory.
Swiss Organic Spray has been certified as an organic product by NOCA. A patent has been applied for and is pending. It is being used successfully by 50,000 farmers in south India and 30,000 farmers in eastern India. The tea industry can give it a fair trial in the tea gardens. Small growers can also benefit from using it. It is sure to produce good results in a short span of time by reducing crops losses and improving green leaf production.
