That one yucky spoon of castor oil that grandmas force down your throat as a powerful purgative has now been tweaked to help farmers. A castor-oil-based solution that emits and odour is being touted as the best solution to keep wild boars away from crops. M.S. Prabhakara, senior manager, Pest Control of India Pvt. Ltd., which introduced the product, said the solution also protects crops from porcupines, rodents and nilgai. He told The Hindu that farmers from Kolar, Goa and Lucknow had informed them that the solution was effective. The company introduced the product to farmers at the ‘Krishi Yantra Mela’ at Puttur. He said that 500 ml of the solution should be mixed with 2.5 litres of water. A rope made of jute, coir or cotton should be immersed in it and left overnight. The rope should then be tied to poles or the fence around the field. The odour would keep the animals away for 45 days. The other method is to mix 500 ml of the solution with 25 litres of water and sprayed around the field. .
