Tag Archives: pest

Genetic control mechanism developed to deal with major livestock pest

Posted on June 21, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on AgScience:
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a technique to control populations of the Australian sheep blowfly – a major livestock pest in Australia and New Zealand – by making female flies dependent on a…

Posted in agriculture, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged America, antibiotic, antibiotic dependence, arboriculture, arthropod, Asia, Australian sheep blowfly, biotechnology, blowfly, dipteran, Drosophila melanogaster, fruit, fruitfly, genetic modification, insect, invertebrate, lab animal, livestock, mammal, New World screwworm, pest, pest control, plant_dicot, research, sheep, tetracycline, tree, vertebrate | Leave a comment

Roundup Ready superweeds

Posted on May 2, 2014 by argylesock

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is a campaigning organisation based in the United States. UCS isn’t very impressed by genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered) crops. Here’s a UCS film telling us that the chemical and biotech giant Monsanto has … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture | Tagged agroecology, biotechnology, escaping transgene, evolution, genetic modification, glyphosate, Monsanto, pest, pesticide, pesticide resistance, Roundup, Roundup Ready crop, superweed, weed | 4 Comments

The homogenisation and globalisation of diets

Posted on April 25, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on One Billion Hungry: Can We Feed the World?:
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that some 75% of the diversity of cultivated crops was lost during the 20th Century and, by 2050, we could lose…

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture, human health, money and trade | Tagged Africa, America, Asia, cassava, city, climate, conservation, crop, crop diversity, crop variety, development, disease, Europe, Food and Agriculture Organization, food safety, genetic diversity, grain, human, iodine, iron, law, micronutrient, millet, neglected crop, nutrition, pest, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, population, potato, prosperity, research, rice, rye, seedbank, staple food, sugar beet, sugar cane, sweet potato, trade, tuber, Vitamin A, wheat | 6 Comments

Stowaways in potted plants

Posted on April 18, 2014 by argylesock

Potted plants can seem so benign. Beautiful, fascinating, good to grow and give, but they may carry invasive species which are not benign. Tom Bawden at The Independent tells us about invasive species reaching Europe, including the New Guinea flatworm … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, horticulture, money and trade | Tagged alien species, America, Argentine ant, arthropod, Asia, Asian hornet, beetle, biosecurity, coleopteran, Europe, flatworm, garden, harlequin ladybird, herbivore, hymenopteran, insect, invasive species, invertebrate, ladybird, landscape, lepidopteran, light brown apple moth, lily beetle, mollusc, moth, native species, New Guinea flatworm, New Zealand flatworm, oak processionary moth, pest, plant_dicot, plant_gymnosperm, plant_monocot, predator, rosemary leaf beetle, slug, snail, Spanish slug | 5 Comments

Australian crops with or without genetic modification

Posted on April 16, 2014 by argylesock

Steve Marsh is a Western Australian farmer who sued his neighbour Michael Baxter for ‘reckless’ harvesting of GM (genetically modified, genetically engineered) canola (oilseed rape, rapeseed, Brassica napus). Some GM canola seeds ended up on Mr Marsh’s land. Mr Marsh … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, money and trade | Tagged arthropod, Asia, biotechnology, brassica, Bt crop, canola, cotton, crop, disease, escaping transgene, farmer, fire, foot and mouth disease, genetic modification, glyphosate, herbicide, insect, insecticide, law, Marsh_Steve, Monsanto, oilseed, organic, pest, plant_dicot, potato blight, rapeseed, Roundup, Roundup Ready crop, seed, weed | 2 Comments

Save Britain’s Barn Owls

Posted on March 31, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on Green Living London:
A petition has been launched to save Britain’s Barn Owls, which are dying off in their thousands. The changing climate and a loss in their natural habitat is part of the picture, but these iconic…

Posted in ecology | Tagged alien species, anticoagulant, barn owl, bird, bird of prey, bromadiolone, conservation, difenacoum, Europe, mammal, native species, pest, pesticide, poison, predator, rare species, rat, rodent, vertebrate, wildlife | Leave a comment

An organic farmer walks into Monsanto

Posted on February 1, 2014 by argylesock

The biotechnology giant Monsanto says that it’s ‘improving agriculture, improving lives.’ Do you agree? Monsanto is a chemical company. Some of its efforts to improve agriculture involve agrochemicals and genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered, GE) seeds to be planted where … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged arthropod, biotechnology, breeding, Bt crop, Bt toxin, climate, climate-ready crop, crop, crop variety, development, farmer, genetic modification, herbicide, insect, insecticide, Monsanto, organic, patent, pest, pesticide, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, Roundup, Roundup Ready crop, seed, soil, sustainable, trade, weed | 4 Comments

Revealed: the chemical blitz bees face in fields

Posted on January 30, 2014 by argylesock

Dave Goulson at The Conversation tells us about insecticides on British crops. Last year on oilseed rape (rapeseed, canola, Brassica napus) Prof Goulson found the neonicotinoid called thiamethoxam (which, by now, is temporarily banned), the pyrethroids called beta-cyfluthrin and alpha-cypermethrin, … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged alpha-cypermethrin, arthropod, beta-cyfluthrin, brassica, bumblebee, canola, crop, farmer, fungicide, fungus, honeybee, hymenopteran, insect, insecticide, integrated pest management, neonicotinoid, oilseed, pest, pesticide, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, pollination, pollution, prothioconazole, pyrethroid, rapeseed, thiamethoxam, trade, wild bee, wild pollinator | 1 Comment

GM apples

Posted on January 18, 2014 by argylesock

When apple (Malus domestica) fruits are cut or bitten, we all know that the cut surfaces turn brown. To stop this happening, here’s a range of genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered, GE) apples called Arctic apples. Ordinary apples turn brown … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged Agrobacterium tumefaciens, apple, apple Arctic, arthropod, bacterium, biotechnology, breeding, food processing, fruit, fruit variety, gene silencing, genetic modification, grocery, insect, law, pest, pH, plant_dicot, tree | 7 Comments

European pesticide rules might threaten American exports

Posted on December 26, 2013 by argylesock

CropLife America ‘represents the developers, manufacturers, formulators and distributors of plant science solutions for agriculture and pest management in the United States.’ It’s a good source of information on many topics, including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) now … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, horticulture, money and trade | Tagged America, BASF, Bayer, crop, Dow, DuPont, Europe, farm, fruit, garden, grain, law, Monsanto, nut, peanut, pest, pesticide, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, seed, soya, Syngenta, trade, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership | 4 Comments