Pesticide Potpourri

• Dr. David Schuster recently presented results of insecticide resistance monitoring in silverleaf whitefly.  The assay used in monitoring determines the relative susceptibility (RS value) for each compound by dividing the LC50 values for the field populations by the LC50 values of the laboratory colony.  The RS values declined for the nicotinoids Admire® (imidacloprid) and Platinum® (thiamethoxam) by 23 and 60 percent respectively, compared to 2006.  However, several hotspots of increased RS values (equating to potential resistance) for Admire® were noted in Parrish and NE Collier County with RS values of 48 and 86, respectively.  A value of 86 largely equates to resistance to the product in this area of the county.  Increased RS values for Platinum®, but not in the same places as Admire®, supports the contention that there may be simultaneous selection for tolerance but not cross-tolerance occurring.  Also noted were extremely high RS values for bifenthrin (from 30 to 241).  (Tomato Research Report for 2006-2007). 
•  Operation Cleansweep will enter into its eighth year of existence for fiscal year 2007-2008.  A number of associations and pesticide stakeholders participate on the Cleansweep steering committee.  The 2007 legislature has appropriated $100,000 to help maintain this operation.  (FDACS newsletter).

•  Dr. Pete Timmer, who retired in May after 29 years of work at the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, was cited as saying in a video deposition taped in September that he suggested as early as 1998 that it would be difficult to eradicate canker, a bacterial disease that mars fruit and weakens trees.  The canker outbreak began in Miami-Dade County, where canker was detected in 1995.  Timmer's deposition was played in a Palm Beach County Circuit Court during a class-action lawsuit to determine the state's liability and whether the state's compensation was adequate for backyard citrus owners who lost their trees during the 11-year canker fight.  Timmer testified for the plaintiffs in the suit brought on behalf of more than 40,000 Palm Beach County homeowners whose 66,468 trees were removed as canker officials attempted to stop the disease's spread.  The homeowners are seeking additional compensation beyond the $100 Wal-Mart vouchers offered for the first tree and $55 cash payments for each additional tree.  (Palm Beach Post, 10/19/07). 

•  Beekeepers are predicting better times in 2008.  The Almond Board of California, whose grower-members are the biggest users of commercial honey bees for pollination in late winter, hosted a meeting late October in Modesto to get an update on the situation.  Gene Brandi, a beekeeper based in Los Banos (CA), was quoted as saying, “From my own opinion and the beekeepers I know, it does appear that bees are in a little bit better shape this year than they were a year ago.”  Many beekeepers across the country reported major losses last winter to what has been dubbed colony collapse disorder.  The cause of the die-off is not known, but researchers suspect viruses, poor weather, pesticides and a few other possibilities.  Beekeepers are keeping a close watch on their colonies as another winter approaches.  Orin Johnson, who is based near Hughson and is president of the California State Beekeepers Association, was cited as saying he has not heard of much trouble so far, adding, “Overall, bees right now are looking really good, but we always keep our fingers crossed.”  (The Modesto Bee, 10/20/07). 

•  Scientists say a new bacteria species discovered in Yellowstone's thermal pools could improve the use of bacteria to produce ethanol.  Researchers found the bacteria in Octopus and Mushroom springs as well as in Green Finger Pool.  The bacteria thrive in hot water, growing best between 120 and 150 degrees.  The discovery is rare because the bacterium is photosynthesizing, meaning it produces energy from sunlight.  Scientists have discovered just three similar bacterial species within the past century, according to Don Bryant, a professor of biotechnology, biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University and leader of the research team.  (New York Times, 10/26/07).

•  EPA is exploring withdrawal of guidance to test for StarLink™ in corn.  Testing of yellow corn started in 2000 following the detection of illegal residues of StarLink™ in the food supply.  Since StarLink™ corn has not been planted since 2000, levels have steadily decreased to where new detections are virtually non-existent.  Over 99.99% of more than 412 million bushels of corn tested negative in 2006.  EPA’s draft White Paper includes the results of more than 4 million tests on 4 billion bushels of corn.  These data indicate that there has not been a verified positive test of yellow corn for dry milling in the marketplace for at least 3 years.  (GMO Pundit, 11/18/07). 

•  A modified version of the Bt toxin, a class of chemicals that specifically target caterpillars and are naturally produced by a bacterium, may help manage the development of resistance.  Thus far, resistance has only been documented in the field for two insects: diamondback moths (Plutella xylostella) and cabbage loopers (Trichoplusia ni), both of which produce larvae that munch their way through vegetable crops.  Two researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Morelos and their colleagues have designed a new way to stave off pests by modifying the Bt toxins.  They found that when they deleted a specific region of a Bt toxin, the toxin no longer needed to bind to a receptor before it could kill its host.  They tested two versions of the new toxin against Bt-resistant pink bollworms (Pectinophora gossypiella) reared in the laboratory.  The bollworms were at least a hundred times more susceptible to one form of the modified Bt toxin than to the natural compound and another version of the modified toxin killed all of the resistant bollworms.  (Nature, 11/1/07). 

•  A Los Angeles jury found Dole Foods to be liable for civil punishment for not informing Nicaraguan plantation workers of potential health dangers from a pesticide.  The decision clears the way for punitive damages in addition to the $3.2 million that jurors awarded the workers in early November to compensate them for their injuries.  The workers alleged they had been rendered sterile by DBCP which was used on company plantations.  The six plantation workers involved in the suit also received a total of $754,000 from the maker of the pesticide, Dow Chemical.  The jurors have already labeled the pesticide as a defective product, which may make the punitive damages higher.  So far, courts in Nicaragua have levied over $600 million in damages against Dole and other companies that used DBCP.  This verdict has been the first foreign farmworkers have won in a U.S. court against Dole Foods and Dow Chemical regarding DBCP harm.  There are four more lawsuits pending in L.A. regarding health damage due to DBCP.  Thousands of workers from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama are involved in the suits.  (injuryboard, 11/9/07). 

•  In Parana state, Brazil, two people were shot dead when activists invaded a research farm that has been a flashpoint in the debate over biotech crops.  A security guard and an activist were killed by gunfire at the farm owned by Syngenta AG.  The official Agencia Brasil news agency was cited as saying four activists and four security guards were injured.  Parana state government said seven guards were arrested, facing possible homicide charges.  The Landless Workers Movement was cited as saying in a statement that activists, including members of Brazil's Landless Workers Movement and the peasants rights group Via Campesina, shot off fireworks as they entered the farm, and a bus arrived later with gunmen.  A shootout ensued, though Syngenta's contract with its security company required the guards to be unarmed, Syngenta spokesman Medard Schoenmaeckers said.  He described it as “a quite dramatic and violent confrontation where we understand that indeed there were some deadly injuries.”  While Brazil's national government allows use of genetically modified seeds for some crops, Parana's state government recently outlawed genetically modified corn and has tried repeatedly to shut down the Syngenta farm.  (Newsday, 10/22/07).