biopesticides (was Re: [compost_tea] Re: metal chelates-application rates

From: Ted Peterson <ted.peterson_at_tcsn.net>
Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 20:31:07 -0700

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: soilfoodweb_at_aol.com
  To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
  Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 7:56 PM
  Subject: Re: [compost_tea] Re: metal chelates-application rates


  We have to have solid, scientific evidence to show that compost tea will =
act as a pesticide before we can make that claim.

  And why would we want to go there?

  Now, the EPA has changed their language with respect to "bio-pesticides",=
 

I talked with a professor at UCSB who was doing work with Euc. It seems th=
ere is an insect that causes a Euc. blight. This insect looks similar to a=
n insect I have heard called a Glasswing. It's light green in color with t=
hin body and abdomen. Anyway, there is a biological control for these in t=
he form of a wasp. He tells me that he can't import the wasps because they=
 must be registered and used in a certain way but nobody has figured out ho=
w to release them and control them so they don't become a bigger problem th=
an the insects that carry the blight.

I joking suggested genetic alteration so they can't reproduce and he indica=
ted that genetic alteration was exactly what the gummint was looking for. =
They want a nonreproducing species that will attack the phrips then die off=
 before reproduction. His opinion was that whoever was making that policy h=
ad read too much Crichton. I thought this was done all the time with biolo=
gical controls.

We have a big Med. fruit fly problem in CA and I remember that one plan was=
 to irridate males who would seek out and breed with femals but produce off=
srping (because of the damaged genes) that could not survive. I think they=
 tried it with females too. Millions of the critters were released and the=
y had traps to see how far they went and how the population (fruit fly) was=
 responding. I kind of like the idea of using biological controls but am w=
ary of genetic alteration after reading all the scary stories in Scientific=
 American about recombined DNA mutating into some vicious diseases.

I don't know the results but I do know that we still have fruit flys. It's=
 hard to kill critters that lay about a billion eggs at a shot.

Ted Peterson
EW/SOE



Received on Fri May 07 2004 - 00:29:25 EDT

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