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Dr. Zeyaur Khan, the leader of the widely-reputed icipe Push-Pull programme has been elected a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America (ESA).

The designation of ESA Fellow is accorded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the science of entomology – the scientific study of insects – with only 10 such distinction made annually. Nominees must have made significantly outstanding contributions in one or more areas of entomology, for instance in the field of research.

This recognition adds to Dr. Khan’s growing list of accolades for his work as the leader of the Push-Pull programme, an innovative strategy that simultaneously controls stemborers and striga weed, the two key constraints of cereal production in Africa. Last year, Dr. Khan was selected the winner of the International Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Achievement Awards, which is given to individuals or teams who have made significant contributions to the advancement of IPM, with at least one extraordinary achievement.

Push-pull technology was developed by Dr. Khan at icipe in collaboration with Rothamsted Research in the United Kingdom, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute and various national partners, with funding from Kilimo Trust (East Africa), Gatsby Foundation (UK) and Biovision (Switzerland).

The technology involves intercropping cereals with a repellent plant such as Desmodium, and planting an attractive trap plant, such as Napier grass, as a border crop around this intercrop. Stemborers are repelled or deterred away from the target crop (push) while they are simultaneously attracted (pull) to the trap crop, leaving the target crop protected.

In addition, Desmodium stimulates the germination of Striga seeds and inhibits their growth after it germinates. This combination provides a novel means of in situ reduction of the Striga seed bank in the soil through efficient suicidal germination.

Today, more than 30,000 farmers in eastern Africa are practicing push-pull technology on their farms, dramatically improving their cereal yields. In addition, the platform enables small-scale farmers to venture into dairy cattle farming, as both Desmodium and Napier are both good fodder crops. Moreover, Desmodium fixes nitrogen and helps retain moisture through shading, and is also a perennial crop, which is able to exert its Striga control effect even when the host crop is out of season.