Mitigating Blue Bull Menace: Assessing Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture

Blue bull (Boselaphus tragocamelus), the largest antelope is causing significant crop losses in Punjab, India and farmers are continuously struggling to get rid of this menace. During present study, various mitigation tactics like physical barriers (such as barbed wire fencing, chain-linked fencing, electric fencing, and nylon net), mechanical and visual deterrent (such as bioacoustic and LED bulb, reflective ribbon) and repellents (such as phenyl, neelbo, and repellent based formulation i.e., RBF) were evaluated in different crops against the blue bull. Among physical barriers, chain-linked fencing, electric fencing, and nylon net, each at a height of ≥ 7 feet, had given promising results by providing complete protection for ≥ 2 year with a single application cost. Whereas barbed wire fencing and electric fencing at a height of 4–5 feet were not very effective against these animals, as they easily crossed fencings at lower height. All these physical barriers were not cost effective except in maize crop, which is the most preferred crop by blue bull. Bioacoustic device and reflective ribbon successfully reduced animal visits or percent damage and provided short term relief; however, after some time, animals developed habituation against these methods. Among chemical repellents, RBF significantly reduced the percent crop damage, was cost effective and remained operative for 21–69 days, while phenyl and neelbo exhibited effectiveness for only 7–14 days. Thus, this study suggests that while comprehensive damage prevention by physical barriers might be difficult or unaffordable for farmers, the use of repellent based formulation at vulnerable stages of crops can prevent damage for longer durations. Implementing a diverse set of management devices at the appropriate times can form an economically viable strategy to maintain blue bull damage within acceptable limits.