Pesticide is any agent used to kill or control pest thus helps in preventing crops from being harmed by insects, weeds or pathogens etc. Besides their advantages, the pesticides may cause unfriendly effect both on health and environment if not dealt with care. Human health and environmental risks associated with pesticide exposure are a global concern. The present study was thus an endeavor to investigate the health and environmental hazards of pesticides use to farming community in Khyber Pakthunkhwa, Pakistan. The prominent objectives of the study was investigate the toxic pesticides used by farming community in reference to the WHO toxicity classes, health and environmental risk to farmers due to improper use, possible ways to reduce the use of pesticides and part of Agriculture Extension Department in judicious use of pesticides.Cross sectional survey design was utilized as a part of the current investigation. Four union councils through multistage sampling technique was selected i.e. UC Band Kurai, Khanmai, Baffa and Baidara from districts D.I.Khan, Charsadda, Mansehra and Swat respectively. Sample size of 384 respondents was selected for the present study. SPSS ver. 20 were used for analysis of data collected. Simple frequencies, percentages were calculated whereas chi-square test, t-test and binary logistic regression model was utilized. Statistical analysis of the data revealed that majority of the respondents were using pesticides from the last 10 years. The respondents were not using proper personal protection measures while using pesticides and re-enter their fields the following day thus increases the odds of health issues to the farming community and were suffered from various acute poisoning cases i.e. headache, sneezing, cough, nausea, dizziness, feeling weak, difficulty in seeing, eye irritation, shortness of breath, burning sensation etc. Moreover, the knowledge of the farming community regarding the health and environmental hazards was also low. Overall 49 different sorts of pesticides were reported by the farming community as the most commonly used by them and majority were insecticides. Mostly the insecticides were from Class-II (moderately hazard) of the pesticides toxicity level followed by the Class III (slightly hazard) and Class U (unlikely to present acute hazard). Only two insecticides i.e. Carbofuron and Cartap from Cartap Hydrochloride chemical group were from Class-Ib which are highly hazardous. Moreover, number of sprays in field crops were low as compared to vegetables and fruits and mostly they pick their produce in 3-5 days of pesticides application in vegetables and fruits.Similarly the other unhealthy practices of pesticides observed were the re-spray of the leftover pesticides in the same season or in the upcoming season which results in increase in number x of sprays per season. Disposing the left over pesticides in field or solid waste and overdosing & low dosing against the prescribed/recommended was also an un healthy practice recorded during the study which was due to the fact that majority of the respondents had less knowledge about the prudent use of pesticides and not checking and following the guidelines on labels. In this connection the role of the Agriculture Extension Department (AED) was also not palatable. Almost half of the respondents got training regarding the pesticides application, and other health and environmental issues related to pesticides but still the respondents were not fully aware of the healthy practices which showed that the office didn‘t not completely conferred or imparted the knowledge about the highly toxic pesticides, calibration of pesticides, pesticides application techniques, safety measures, understanding the labels/instructions on pesticides containers and so forth to the respondents. It is concluded that farmers on account of less extension services regarding pesticides, uses the pesticides improperly, having no idea of proper selection of pesticides and their application time. This improper use causes various health hazards like nausea, vomiting, headache etc. it was also concluded that farmers were not been trained properly. Therefore it is suggested that farmers should be properly trained for the safe and efficient use of pesticides. Furthermore, it is also suggested that the Agriculture Extension Department ought to strictly check the sub-standard and highly toxic pesticides in the market.
In the Islamic Law i. E. Quran and Sunnah the above mentioned topic has been discussed clearly and repeatedly to avoid any ambiguity in dealings in our daily life and agreements made between two parties or governments national or international levels. After intensive study I discussed and elaborated the said issue referring to the Qura’nic verses and sayings of the Prophet (SAW). The matter is of great importance; hence the Muslims Jurists have also given their valuable opinions in accordance with the Islamic Law which have been incorporated also to solve the issue. If we act upon these verdicts, we will be able to select the best among ourselves and form an ideal government and will discharge our duties honestly, and eventually our every act will show our responsibility to perform our duties and to give due share to the right person.
The present research project was conducted to evaluate the growth behaviour of Moringa oleifera as affected by different cutting levels, its survival under saline conditions and the potential moringa leaf extract (MLE) was explored to improve the germination and plant vigour of rangeland grasses. It was found that moringa plants give maximum biomass when harvested at 30 cm cutting level regularly after each 30 days. Moreover, maximum nutritional quality was also recorded in rainy season (July and August). Maximum antioxidant activity was also recorded in rainy season (July and August) when the plants were harvested at 30 cm level. In second experiment, it was found that moringa seedlings can survive up to 8 dS m-1 with a slight reduction in its biomass, chlorophyll a, crude protein and mineral contents while the antioxidants’ activity increased with increasing salinity level. Plant biomass, chlorophyll a contents, SOD and POD activity and mineral contents (Ca, K and Mg) were reduced significantly but CAT, total phenolic, β- carotene and chlorophyll b, sodium and phosphorous contents increased significantly up to 12 dS m-1 as compared to control. A positive correlation was found between salinity levels and root biomass, sodium, phosphorous, chlorophyll b, TPC and anioxidants’ activity but a negative correlation was recorded between salinity levels and shoot biomass, calcium, magnesium, potassium, crude protein and chlorophyll a contents. The third experiment was conducted in two phases. In first phase, the priming strategies used were hydropriming, CaCl2, PEG-8000 (–1.1 M Pa), MLE (concentrate; 1:10, 1:20, 1:30, and 1:40 dilutions with distilled water), and matripriming using saturated jute mat for 24 h. The primed seeds were placed between 2 moist Whatman No. 1 filter papers in petri plates to evaluate germination and seedling vigor. Though all of the priming strategies excelled as compared to the control, matripriming and priming with 30× diluted MLE (1:30) were the most effective; thus, they were selected for further experimentation. In the second phase, these optimized priming strategies were used along with hydropriming and an unprimed in pot studies. Both matripriming and MLE (1:30) priming significantly increased the germination. Matripriming was more effective in increasing the number of leaves, number of tillers, and shoot vigor for Cenchrus ciliaris and Panicum antidotale, but roots were more vigorous when primed with MLE (1:30). In the case of Echinochloa crusgalli, the results were reversed: the number of leaves, number of tillers, and shoot vigor were improved when primed by MLE (1:30), whereas matripriming maximally increased the root length and weight. It can be here concluded that M. oleifera is a good alternate of fodder crops especially in dry season when no fodder is available. It can tolerate moderate saline conditions owing to better antioxidant system, activating defensive enzymes and minerals regulation mechanism. Moreover, the usage of MLE (1:30) and matripriming are effective priming strategies which are low-cost, environmentally friendly, and can easily be adapted by farmers and range managers.