Hi Suren,

It is little tricky. You need to spray the pesticide whose residue will decrease to below detection limit before the harvesting. One method seen in many farms is that spraying Trichoderma, before harvesting that will take care of other pest and pesticide.

Hi,

Depending on type of farmer and farming inputs required, toxicity control in farm produce is a complex matter.

For us in Sierra Leone, a huge proportion of farmers are poor and are illiterates (smallholder), meaning they adopt practices that are 'organic' in nature, sustainable and environmentally friendly. Planting to harvesting operations are traditional; including cultural and biological. Only a few proportion of the farming population use chemicals (mostly synthetic). For these group of farmers the following are recommended:

1. Judicious use of chemicals (in pest control)----following label instructions (dosage and application methods)

2. For vegetable growers, do not spray chemicals at fruiting stage. Depend on cultural or physical practices to manage problem. E.g. Remove weeds by hand or hoe-weeding. Weeds are alternate hosts of several crop enemies. Do not use post emergence herbicides (propanil). Use only pre-emergence herbicide (glyphosate), followed by hand or hoe-weeding.

3. If spraying is necessary, in cases of high insect infestation, please allow a pre-harvest interval (24 to 48 hours) before harvesting. Ensure that dosage is regulated according to recommendation on label.

4. All harvested products must be thoroughly wash with clean tap water before consumption or sale.

5. Training of farmers in effective use of agro-chemicals (fertilizer, pesticide) is important.

First, they need local training to help them know when and why to use pest control chemicals or herbicides. Local training is vital. Labels need to be designed so that even illiterate individuals can understand (like highway signs). Volumes or amounts to mix need to be in local languages or pictures or images. In many cases, the measuring cup or pack needs to be included with the material and the sizes of the packages needs to be appropriate for farms of different scales. There need to be very simple illustrations of how to calibrate the hand sprayer and its pattern. Too many of the regulatory agencies require long-detailed written documents that are almost useless to most farmers. The instructions need to be simple, easy and illustrated with drawings and pictures.

Hi Suren,

I consider that farmers must take into account the label instructions regarding to application timing between last pesticide application and hasvest. Moreover,, it have applied the recommended dosage of fungicides or insecticides.