Oza, a botanist from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, who had worked extensively on the plant for decades, said the only method of preventing further dropsy epidemics was to eradicate argemone mexicana from the country which, of course, was a herculian task.

The introduced mexican weed, naturalised throughout India and reaching the hilly regions upto 5000 feet, can tolerate almost any set of climatic conditions and bear flower and fruit most of the year.

The plant produces numerous seeds, roughly about 20,000-30,000, and since it resembles black mustard seeds (brassica nigra) there were enough chances of it getting mixed with mustard seeds, Oza said.

He saidthough `hakims' and `vaidyas' use argemone for its medicinal properties, it was high time for its eradication from the country.

Oza, in one of scientific papers, had said ``We can destroy the seedlings by pulling them out of the soil during the rainy season and repeat the operations several times during monsoon and not allow the plant to grow and shed the seeds''.

He pointed out that since argemone seeds were collected by certain local people in large quantities and sold in the market, there was a possibility of taking their help for identifying the plant and seedlings for its complete eradication.

Since the plant finds shelter in the cultivated fields quite often, chances of the seeds getting mixed with other grains were more, he said.

Oza said the mysterious disease of the swelling of legs in Mumbai in late 1960s, a disease of similar nature in late 1950s in Nadiad (Gujarat), West Bengal and Bihar and the epidemic of dropsy had all resulted due to consumption of edible oil contaminated with argemoneoil.