THE PRODUCTION OF ORGANIC COTTON BY AGROCEL IN GUJARAT, NORTH INDIA. Bishopston Trading Company searched for some time for a reliable source of organic cotton for the handloom weavers due the disastrous effect on soil fertility, pest multiplication and human health by the overuse and misuse of chemicals in cotton farming. The fairly traded organic cotton that we are now using has been produced by Agrocel, an Indian company involved in the promoting of organic farming, environmental protection and sustainable agriculture. It has had social and environmental audits prepared for it by International Resources for Fair Trade (IRFT) and Ethics Etc. (UK). The cotton is being grown in the Kutch area of Gujarat. PEST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES Agrocel believes that precautionary steps and careful monitoring can reduce pest damage significantly. The use the following methods NATURAL ENEMIES AND DEFENDERS OF COTTON The enemies of cotton are aphids, jassids, thrips, mites, whiteflies, bollworm, spiny bollworm, pink bollworm and cotton leafworm. The friends of cotton are ladybirds, lacewings, damsel bugs, night stalking spiders, common brown earwigs, fire ants, muc wasps, trichogramma wasp, two toned caterpillar, branded caterpillar, oprgange caterpillar, tachnid eggs and ichneumonid parasite. Also the pathogens nuclear polyhedrosis virus, beauveria fungus, nomuraea rileyi and bacillus thuringiensis. The population of beneficial insects increases once chemical pesticides are no longer used and trichogramma wasp eggs are introduced to the field by using cards inlaid with eggs. ORGANIC PESTICIDES Three main types of organic pesticides are used: neem-based pesticides; neem-cake; and Verticillium which is a fungus which eats sucking pests. ARTIFICIAL TRAPS, TRAP CROPS AND HOST CROPS Both sticky traps and pheromone traps were used. The traps are also useful for monitoring pest populations. Using multi-crop strategies natural predators were encouraged by providing crops on which they feed (host crops). Pests, on the other hand, were deterred by offering alternatives (trap crops). ORGANIC MANURES An Excel product called Celrich which is made from 100% garbage (food and other bio-waste) is used together with neem cake or castor cake. CROP ROTATIONS Linked with intercropping, crop rotation is designed to nurture soil fertility and create a natural balance of pests, predators, diseases and weeds in the field environment. The cotton is intercropped with maize, sorghum, pulses, groundnut and pigeon pea. DRIP IRRIGATION Given Katchch's drought prone conditions and saline soil, drip irrigation is a necessity. WEED MANAGEMENT No weedicides are used by Agrocel. Instead, weeding is done regularly by hand and weed control is achieved through use of appropriate crop rotation systems, drip irrigation and intercropping. SEED CHOICE Local varieties of cotton seed (not genetically modified or hybrid) are used which are adapted to local conditions. For an overview of organic cotton production we recommend: ORGANIC COTTON edited by Dorothy Myers and Sue Stolton, published by Intermediate Technology Publications Ltd, 103-105 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4HH. ISBN 1 85339 464 5 BACK