Things grow better with Coke The Guardian, John Vidal To keep crops free of bugs Indian farmers are, according to this story, reportedly spraying their cotton and chilli fields with Coca-Cola. The story says that in the past month there have been reports of hundreds of farmers turning to Coke in Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh states. But as word gets out that soft drinks may be bad for bugs and a lot cheaper than anything that Messrs Monsanto, Shell and Dow can offer, thousands of others are expected to switch. Gotu Laxmaiah, a farmer from Ramakrishnapuram in Andra Pradesh, was cited as saying he was delighted with his new cola spray, which he applied this year to several hectares of cotton, adding, "I observed that the pests began to die after the soft drink was sprayed on my cotton." Mr Laxmaiah and others were cited as saying their cola sprays are invaluable because they are safe to handle, do not need to be diluted and, mainly, are cheap. One litre of highly concentrated Avant, Tracer and Nuvocron, three popular Indian pesticides, costs around 10,000 rupees (£120), but one-and-a-half litres of locally made Coca-Cola is 30 rupees. To spray an acre would be a mere 270 rupees. http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,12559,1341454,00.html