February 2005

Pesticide Potpourri

  • The Southern Region IPM Center has worked with the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee to produce a four-page insecticide resistance management fact sheet for distribution to growers or other pest mangers in the southern U.S. The fact sheet includes an insecticide/miticide mode-of-action classification table as well. The Pesticide Information Office (PIO) has obtained 500 copies of this document. The information provided by the fact sheet can be incorporated by extension personnel into publications that address this issue. Please contact the PIO if you would like copies for distribution at meetings or conferences.
  • wpdoc12.gifThe EPA has launched a new consolidated Spanish website as part of its ongoing effort to provide information in this language. Lead poisoning, asthma triggers, and pesticide management are among the topics at the site (www.epa.gov/espanol). (EPA OPP Update, 1/21/05).
  • wpdoc13.gifIt seems the fall hurricanes have triggered noticeable increases in tick numbers. The storms disturbed the tick’s habitat, and forced various animal hosts into closer contact with humans. In one such case, an elderly central Florida couple’s house was nearly uninhabitable with thousands of ticks in the seams where the walls meet the ceiling. But by using a mixture of chemicals (permethrin and pyriproxyfen on the carpet and furniture, chlorfenapyr in the crevices, and permethrin in the yard up to ten feet on tree trunks) and heat (160°F for five and one-half hours), the house and outside premises where eventually cleared of this pest. (PCO, January 2005).
  • wpdoc14.gifA current poll indicated that half of responding growers are experimenting with methyl bromide alternatives. One respondent reported very good responses with methyl iodide (trade name Midas®). (Citrus & Vegetable Magazine, January 2005).
  • wpdoc15.gifSalicylic acid (SA) is a critical signal for the activation of plant defense responses against pathogen infections. Plant researchers recently identified SA-binding protein 2 (SABP2) from tobacco as a protein that displays high affinity for SA and plays a crucial role in the activation of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) to plant pathogens. Salicylic acid is bound in the active site and is completely shielded. Studies also revealed that SABP2 has strong esterase activity with methyl salicylate (MeSA) as the substrate, and that SA is a potent product inhibitor of this catalysis. These observations suggest that SABP2 may be required to convert MeSA to SA as part of the signal transduction pathways that activates SAR and perhaps local defense responses as well. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online Early Edition, 1/24/05).
  • wpdoc16.gifGenetic mapping of the mite Floracarus perrepae has shown that multiple local genotypes exist. Australian and U.S. researchers want to use those that favor the taste of Old World climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum) as biocontrol agents for Florida’s worst invasive weed. The mite punctures the edges of the fern fronds with its mouthparts, which causes the frond to curl downward and inward, rolling over itself two or three times. This reduces the amount of leaf space available for photosynthesis. Eventually, the afflicted frond tissue dries up and falls off. (Ornamental Outlook, January 2005).
  • wpdoc17.gifA Ft. Lauderdale company has agreed to pay over $28,000 to settle an administrative enforcement action involving two products that made pesticidal claims but were not registered as pesticides. Star-Brite Distributing Inc., has agreed to halt distribution of its mildew-control bags as well as a boat-bottom defouling agent. The company has also been working with EPA’s Antimicrobial Division to develop new labels for the products that do not include pesticidal claims. (Chemical Regulation Reporter, 1/17/05).
  • wpdoc18.gifAlthough 34,358 sounds like a lot of soybean growers, they are only responsible for 1 percent of Brazil’s annual soybean harvest. This is also the number of farmers that The Brazilian Agriculture Ministry was cited as saying signed the so-called Terms of Commitment, Responsibility and Adjustment of Behavior, declaring that they will plant genetically modified (GM) soybeans in the 2004/05 crop year. This number of submitted documents, two weeks before the deadline on January 31, 2005, is less than half of the 83,594 Terms of Commitment, Responsibility and Adjustment of Behavior signed for the 2003/04 crop year. The signature of the document is obligatory for all the Brazilian farmers who plant GM soybeans for the 2004/05 season, with several punitive measures being provided in case of non-fulfilment of the requirement. The Agriculture Ministry assessed the low adherence to the regulation as worrying, since the number of farmers actually growing GM soybean is expected to be higher in the 2004/05 season than in the previous year. (Latin American News Digest, 1/21/05)
  • wpdoc19.gifIn at least a temporary diversification away from genetically modified crops, Monsanto has agreed to pay about $1 billion to acquire Seminis, the world's largest producer of fruit and vegetable seeds. Executives were cited as saying that Monsanto would develop new vegetable varieties using conventional breeding, and that the fruit and vegetable seed business could grow without biotechnology, based on a consumer movement toward healthier diets. The new acquisition not only makes Monsanto the largest supplier of vegetable seeds in the world, but also, according to the company's calculations, the largest seed and biotech company over all. It would surpass DuPont, which owns the corn seed giant Pioneer Hi-Bred, in terms of revenues derived from seeds and biotech traits. Seminis, based in Oxnard, CA, had sales last year of $526 million, with its leading products being tomato, cucumber, bean, and pepper seeds. Its main brands are Seminis, Asgrow, Petoseed and Royal Sluis and it sells mainly to farmers, not gardeners. But, with partners, it has recently started to develop some consumer items, like the Bambino miniature watermelon and Lettuce Jammers, lettuce in the shape of a taco shell. Its main rivals in fruit and vegetable seeds are Syngenta of Switzerland and Limagrain of France. Less than one percent of Seminis' sales come from genetically modified seeds. (New York Times, 1/25/05).
  • wpdoc20.gifIn an article in the January 11th New York Times, a survey of 1,200 Americans is cited from the Food Policy Institute at Rutgers University. That survey found that 60 percent of respondents believed that ordinary tomatoes do not contain genes (nine percent) or were unsure that they did (51 percent). This level of ignorance is truly astounding. Anyone who passes a basic high school biology course should be able to figure out that all living organisms have genes. The fact that so many people are misinformed helps explain why anti-biotechnology activists have been so successful in raising spurious fears about foods that have been altered by gene-splicing. Incessant fear-mongering by anti-biotech groups has resulted in a population that is not wiser but is instead more frightened of scientific and technological advances - even though such advances improve their food and environment. (Ruth Kava, American Council on Science and Health, 1/11/05).

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