Push-Pull Technology for Pest Management
The ICIPE-proven pest management system — push crops repel pests from the main crop, pull crops lure them away. Indian-adapted version using locally available plants.
Push-pull technology is a habitat management strategy developed by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Kenya, originally designed to manage stem borer pests in maize. It has since been validated across multiple pest-crop combinations and is increasingly being adapted for Indian conditions, particularly for cereal crops affected by stem borers and similar pests.
The Core Principle
Push-pull combines two complementary planting strategies simultaneously around a main crop:
Push: A repellent intercrop planted within or alongside the main crop emits volatile compounds that repel target pests away from the crop, making it less attractive for egg-laying or feeding.
Pull: An attractive trap crop planted around the field border lures the pest away from the main crop, drawing it toward a "decoy" that the farmer is willing to sacrifice or that itself does not suffer significant economic damage from the pest.
The combination is significantly more effective than either approach alone — pests are simultaneously discouraged from the main crop and actively drawn toward an alternative target.
The Original ICIPE System (Africa)
The system that ICIPE validated extensively across East Africa, primarily for maize stem borer (Chilo partellus, Busseola fusca) and later expanded to control Striga (a parasitic weed):
Push component: Desmodium (a leguminous groundcover) intercropped between maize rows. Desmodium releases volatile compounds that repel egg-laying female stem borer moths, while its root system also suppresses Striga weed germination — a valuable secondary benefit.
Pull component: Napier grass (or Brachiaria grass) planted as a border crop around the maize field. The grass emits volatiles more attractive to stem borer moths than maize itself, drawing them to lay eggs on the border grass instead. Napier grass has a defence mechanism (producing a sticky substance when stem borer larvae attempt to bore in) that traps and kills most larvae before they cause significant damage to the grass itself.
Documented results: Push-pull adoption in East Africa has shown stem borer infestation reductions of 80% or more in well-managed systems, alongside the additional benefit of Striga weed suppression and increased fodder availability from the Desmodium and Napier grass components (both valuable livestock feed).
Adapting Push-Pull for Indian Conditions
Indian agricultural research institutions and farmer innovators have begun adapting push-pull principles using locally available and climatically suited plant species, particularly for stem borer management in maize, sorghum, and sugarcane.
India-Adapted Push Component Options
| Push Crop | Suitable For | Mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| Desmodium (where climatically suited) | Maize, sorghum | Volatile repellent, also suppresses Striga |
| Cowpea | Maize, sorghum | Some repellent effect, plus nitrogen fixation benefit |
| Coriander | Various row crops | Volatile compounds disrupt pest host-finding |
| Mint | Various crops | Strong volatile oil repels several insect pests |
India-Adapted Pull Component Options
| Pull Crop | Suitable For | Mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| Napier grass | Maize, sorghum borders | Attractive oviposition site, traps larvae |
| Sorghum (as a border around other crops) | Cotton fields | Highly attractive to Helicoverpa, traditional Indian trap crop |
| Maize (as a border around cotton) | Cotton | Attracts bollworm preferentially over cotton |
Important India-specific note: Sorghum itself functions as a highly effective "pull" trap crop when planted as a border around cotton fields — this is in fact a long-standing traditional Indian practice in Vidarbha and Telangana cotton-growing regions, used long before formal push-pull terminology was applied to it. Indian cotton farmers have intuitively used sorghum and maize trap-cropping for stem borer and bollworm management for generations.
Practical Implementation: Maize Stem Borer (India)
A practical push-pull design adapted for Indian maize cultivation:
Field Layout
- Border (Pull): Plant 2-3 rows of Napier grass around the entire field perimeter, established at least 3-4 weeks before main crop sowing so it is well-established when maize emerges
- Intercrop (Push): Plant Desmodium (where climatically suitable — requires reasonable moisture) or Cowpea between every 2 rows of maize
- Maintenance: Napier grass border should be maintained at a height slightly taller than the maize crop to maximize its attractiveness as an alternative oviposition site
- Harvest both components: Napier grass provides excellent livestock fodder; Desmodium or Cowpea intercrop provides additional fodder/food value plus nitrogen fixation benefit to the main crop
Why This Works Agronomically
Stem borer moths locate host plants partly through volatile chemical cues. The push component (Desmodium/Cowpea volatiles) creates "chemical noise" that disrupts the moth's ability to efficiently locate maize plants for egg-laying, while the more attractive pull component (Napier grass) at the field border provides a preferred alternative target — moths are statistically more likely to lay eggs on the border grass than venture into the volatile-confused interior crop.
Practical Implementation: Cotton Bollworm (Traditional Indian Practice)
This represents the most established Indian application of push-pull principles, validated through decades of farmer practice in major cotton-growing regions.
Field Layout
- Border/Pull crop: Plant 2-4 rows of sorghum or maize around the cotton field perimeter, timed to flower slightly before or simultaneous with cotton's most vulnerable stage
- Push component: Intercropping cotton with marigold has shown some repellent benefit against certain cotton pests, in addition to marigold's known nematode-suppressing root exudates
Management Through the Season
The trap crop (sorghum/maize border) requires active monitoring — once significant Helicoverpa egg masses or larvae are observed concentrated on the border crop, the farmer can apply targeted treatment (NPV spray, Bt, or even hand-removal) specifically to the border rows, achieving effective pest population control with dramatically less spray coverage than treating the entire field.
Limitations and Realistic Expectations
Climate matching matters: Desmodium, the most effective push component in the original African system, has specific climate and rainfall requirements that do not suit all Indian agro-climatic zones — research into locally-adapted push components remains ongoing, and farmers in drier regions may find Cowpea or other locally-robust legumes more practical substitutes.
Establishment lead time: The border/pull crop needs to be established before or alongside the main crop to be effective — push-pull is a planned system designed in advance, not a reactive treatment once pest pressure is already observed.
Not a complete pest management solution alone: Push-pull significantly reduces pest pressure and the resulting need for direct intervention, but should be understood as one layer within a broader integrated pest management approach (alongside biocontrol agents, resistant varieties, and monitoring) rather than a standalone guarantee against all pest damage.
Land allocation trade-off: Dedicating field border rows and intercrop rows to push-pull components does reduce the area available for the main cash crop — though this is substantially offset by reduced pest damage, reduced spray costs, and the fodder/nitrogen-fixation value the push-pull components themselves provide.
Where Research Is Heading in India
Several Indian agricultural research institutions, including ICAR centres focused on maize and sorghum pest management, are actively conducting trials to identify the most climatically-robust and economically practical push-pull plant combinations for Indian growing conditions, building on both the ICIPE African model and India's own long-standing traditional trap-cropping practices in cotton. Farmers interested in implementing push-pull systems should consult their local KVK or agricultural university for the most current locally-validated plant combination recommendations specific to their agro-climatic zone.