Pakistan's tomato fields may soon be greener and healthier, thanks to a groundbreaking collaboration between scientists in Pakistan and China that has shown farmers can slash pesticide use by over 40% without sacrificing yields. In field trials just wrapped up in Sargodha, researchers from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) and China's Yunnan University tested a pioneering eco-friendly pest management system that promises to transform how Pakistan grows one of its most important crops.
The project, conducted under the framework of the Yunnan Fruit-Vegetable-Flower IPM International Joint Lab, targets one of Pakistani agriculture's toughest challenges: pests like the invasive Tuta absoluta, which devastate tomato fields, particularly in Punjab's blistering heat.
Tomatoes are cultivated year-round across around 150,000-hectare area in Pakistan, where open-field grown tomato crops yield approximately 4-6 tons per acre, which is far below the world average of more than 10 tons per acre. A 2024 study by Agriculture University Peshawar has concluded that the lack of knowledge among farmers and the absence of proper management contribute to infestations of pests, leading to decreased tomato crop yields.
"With no officially recommended pesticides available, many farmers resort to heavy, unregulated chemical spraying—fueling pest resistance, degrading soils, threatening biodiversity, and putting human health at risk," Dr. Abid Ali, a Pakistani agriculturist told China Economic Net.
Read more at China Economic
