Pesticide Potpourri

• In late December, a teenage girl was attacked by Africanized honeybees in Fort Lauderdale, adding to the growing list of occurrences that have been documented since this insect entered the state five years ago.  These bees are now believed to be established across the state, with attacks on a city meter reader in Port St. Lucie in 2005, and livestock deaths reported that same year.  Agriculture officials have placed about 500 traps around the state to try to reduce the influx.  (Gainesville Sun, 1/18/07). 
•  The United States and Brazil, the two largest biofuel producers in the world, are meeting in February to discuss a new energy partnership that they hope will encourage ethanol use throughout Central and South America.  U.S. officials were cited as saying they expect to sign accords within a year that would promote technology-sharing with Brazil and encourage more countries in the area to become biofuel producers and consumers.  The United States and Brazil together produce about 70 percent of the world's ethanol.  (Washington Post, 2/8/07). 
•  The first genetically modified crop developed entirely in Africa is gearing up for field trials.  Panner Seeds, in Greytown South Africa is developing corn that is resistant to maize streak virus, which is vectored by the African leafhopper (Cicadulina mbila).  In greenhouse studies so far, the plants are highly resistant.  If it proves equally hardy in field trials scheduled to begin in late 2007, it would be a milestone: the first-ever genetically modified crop developed by Africans for Africans.  (Science, Vol. 315, No. 5809). 
•  A tiny whitefly is responsible for spreading a group of plant viruses that cause devastating disease on food, fiber, and ornamental crops, say plant pathologists with The American Phytopathological Society (APS).  According to Judith Brown, professor of plant sciences at the University of Arizona's Department of Plant Sciences, the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (B. tabaci), is the exclusive insect vector (transmitter) for a large group of emerging plant viruses that infect several hundred plant species worldwide.  “Once considered an obscure whitefly, B. tabaci is now among the most invasive and economically damaging insects to agriculture, spanning food and fiber crops, and certain nursery grown ornamentals, with the ability to infest more than 500 plant species.”  This whitefly and the plant viruses it transmits are no longer restricted to their native habitats or contained by natural geographic boundaries.  “The increased importance of new and emerging plant viral pathogens is directly related to the adaptive capacity of B. tabaci and its ability to exploit agricultural systems,” Brown said.  B. tabaci has proven difficult to control partly because of its tendency to develop insecticide resistance.  “As the population levels of the whitefly B. tabaci continue to remain robust, new species of plant viruses will continue to emerge and cause damaging diseases in food and fiber crops.”  Early virus and vector detection, information about their distribution and host range, and knowledge about the mode of virus transmission by this whitefly are essential for managing the emerging plant viruses and the vector populations.  (The American Phytopathology Society, 1/18/07).
•  Scientists are trying to determine the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder that's killing thousands of honeybee colonies across the U.S. while some commercial beekeepers have reported losing the majority of their bees.  The problem could affect not only domestic honey producers but also fruit growers and other farmers who rely on bees to pollinate their crops.  One expert at Penn State University says dissected bees have shown alarmingly high levels of foreign fungi, bacteria and other organisms as well as weakened immune systems.  (AP, 2/11/07).
•  DuPont's vice president of agriculture was cited as saying its Pioneer seed unit doesn't have enough supply to meet demand for corn engineered with three benefits, including pest and herbicide resistance, adding that there should be enough seed to meet demand in 2008.  DuPont is struggling to stop Monsanto, the world's biggest developer of genetically modified crops, from taking a bigger share of the U.S. corn-seed market for a sixth year.  U.S. farmers may devote ten percent more acres to corn this year, the most since 1949, with another 5 percent increase in 2008, the American Farm Bureau said this month.  Corn prices have almost doubled in the past year and on January 17 reached $4.21 a bushel in Chicago, the highest since 1996.  (Bloomberg, 1/25/07).