[compost_tea] A peculiar question

From: Elizabeth <spacecitydx_at_webtv.net>
Date: Wed, 03 Nov 2004 19:57:42 -0000

The article below has been sent out on both the local harvest and Market Fa= rming list serves. I`ve taken an excerpt of all our questions and comments;= would you please answer my questions, based on the article I have included= and all your expertise with soil?

Our question to the below article is if you are applying phosphoric acid an= d CO2 (which increases photosynthesis).....

1. What is the corn syrup and fructose doing to the soil?

2. What fungi would/could develop on the plants as a result?

3. Would it attract more beneficial insects?

4. Any idea using this as a foliar spray do to our organic status?

*************ARTICLE*****************
Things grow better with Coke
John Vidal
Tuesday November 2, 2004
The Guardian

Indian farmers have come up with what they think is the real thing to keep = crops free of bugs. Instead of paying hefty fees to international chemical = companies for patented pesticides, they are reportedly spraying their cotto= n and chilli fields with Coca-Cola. In the past month there have been repor= ts 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 Ramakrishnapura= m in Andra Pradesh, said he was delighted with his new cola spray, which he= applied this year to several hectares of cotton. "I observed that the= pests began to die after the soft drink was sprayed on my cotton," he= told the Deccan Herald newspaper.

Coca-Cola has had a bad year in India.
Other farmers in Andra Pradesh state accused the company of over-extracting= underground water for its bottling plants and a government committee uphel= d findings that drinks made in India by itself and PepsiCo contained unacce= ptable amounts of pesticide residue. But Mr Laxmaiah and others say their c= ola sprays are invaluable because they are safe to handle, do not need to b= e 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.

It is clearly not Coke's legendary "secret" ingredient that is up= setting the bugs. The farmers also swear by Pepsi, Thums Up, and other loca= l soft drinks. The main ingredients of all colas are water and sugar but so= me manufacturers add citric and phosphoric acids to give that extra bite to= human taste buds.

Yesterday a leading Indian agriculture analyst, Devinder Sharma, said: &quo= t;I think Coke has found its right use. Farmers have traditionally used sug= ary solutions to attract red ants to feed on insect larvae. "I think t= he colas are also performing the same role." The properties of Coke ha= ve been discussed for years. It has been reported that it is a fine lavator= y cleaner, a good windscreen wipe and an efficient rust spot remover.

Uncorroborated reports from China claimed that the ill-fated New Coke was w= idely used in China as a spermicide.

Yesterday a spokesman for Coca-Cola in Atlanta said: "We are aware of = one isolated case where a farmer may have used a soft drink as part of his = crop management routine.

"Soft drinks do not act in a similar way to pesticides when applied to= the ground or crops. There is no scientific basis for this and the use of = soft drinks for this purpose would be totally ineffective."





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Received on Wed Nov 03 2004 - 15:33:43 EST

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