Radiation a viable alternative to pesticides?
Posted by Gavin on November 30, 2009 in Environment, Farming
Scientists from the IAEA and the UN´s Food and Agriculture Organisation are working on a project to control agricultural pests using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), which uses radiation to sterilise pests, as reported by the Nuclear Power Industry News Blog.
Focusing on the Olive Fruit Fly (Bactrocera oleae) a project is underway to investigate the success of using nuclear technologies to render male flies sterile through exposure to radiation. Radiated male flies are released into the wild, theoretically reducing the number of successfully fertilised fly eggs.
This is a form of pest control known as Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), which also includes the production of genetically modified insects.
It would be interesting to compare the efficiency and environmental impacts of releasing sterile radiated pests for crop protection and the use of pesticides with active ingredients such as endocrine disruptors.
PesticideInformation will follow developments. If you have an opinion on this, or would like to share a useful link, please leave us a comment below…
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Comments(1)More on Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) from around the web
Posted by Gavin on November 18, 2009 in Environment, Farming, Food & health, Global issues
Another round-up of online press and research covering the debate on Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the name given to an apparent global decline in the pollinating bee population. Comments and link contributions are welcomed - look for the ‘Comments’ link at the base of this post.
Press
Trying to Diagnose the Disappearing Bees (Voice of Sandiego.org)
10 Possible Causes of Colony Collapse Disorder (About.com)
Scientists Untangle Multiple Causes of Bee Colony Disorder (Environment News Service)
Habitat loss and disease are bees’ bane, not pesticides (Farmers Weekly Interactive)
Pesticides blamed for killing bees (Telegraph.co.uk)
Global Honey Bee Population Increasing, Despite Local Losses (ecoworldly.com)
Mysterious decline in bee population creates worry (WorldFocusOnline via YouTube)
General reference
Colony collapse disorder (Wikipedia)
Colony collapse disorder - Possible causes and research (Wikipedia)
Research
Colony Collapse Disorder: A Descriptive Study
(van Engelsdorp et al. plosone.org)
Honeybee colony collapse due to Nosema ceranae in professional apiaries
(Higes et al. Environmental Microbiology Reports, via Wiley InterScience)
Distribution and decline of British bumblebees
(Williams / Natural History Museum UK)
Recent press on pesticides
Posted by Phil on November 06, 2009 in Uncategorized
Some articles on pesticides and related topics from the last two weeks. Feel free to recommend more articles by selecting “Recommend a page or site” above or access a more comprehensive list of articles by using the Delicious cloud in the right-hand column.
- Climate map shows human impact (BBC)
- Climate change will devastate Africa, top UK scientist warns (Guardian)
- Low-carbon farms can raise food output, food agency says (STV News)
- Developed countries face threat of soaring prices and food shortages (Guardian)
- Developing Countries Paying More For Food, WFP Executive Director Says (Medical News Today)
- Brussels’ plans to slash CAP budget revealed (Farmers Guardian)
- Scientists urge respect on advice (BBC)
- UF research examines how common pesticide mixes may affect bee die-offs (University of Florida News)
- Pesticides non a serious threat to bees (Farmers Guardian)
- Can Bumble Bees Fill Pollination Void? (Innovations Report)
- 10 herbal teas found to contain pesticides (United Press International)
- Discovery of Pesticide Amitraz in Turkish Pears: EU Member States to Increase Controls on Imports (FlexNews)
- Depression link to processed food (BBC)
Recent articles on pesticides and related topics
Posted by Phil on September 25, 2009 in Uncategorized
Please find below some articles on pesticides and related topics from the last two weeks. Do feel free to recommend more articles by selecting “Recommend a page or site” above or access a more comprehensive list of articles by using the Delicious cloud in the right-hand colmumn.
- So Much Food. So Much Hunger (The New York Times)
- Leading scientists call for a new approach to food security (Environmental Expert)
- World will need 70 percent more food in 2050: FAO (AFP)
- FSA attacks French organics study (The Ecologist)
- New Computing Tool Could Lead To Better Crops And Pesticides (ScienceDaily)
- Commission to name ‘chief scientific advisor’ (Euractiv)
- Commission says farmers need help to cut carbon (Euractiv)
- Climate change hails new era for agriculture (Farmers Guardian)
- Bee deaths set apiculture congress abuzz (AFP)
- Urban beekeeping in UK helps combat decline (AFP)
