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This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about personal helicopters; pruney fingers; screwed up beetles; rig recycling; and more… Read More about Personal helicopters, pruney fingers and screwed up beetles
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about how bugs control our lives; how “now” is three seconds long; fish parasites; single-bladed helicopters; and more Read More about How bugs control our lives, fish parasites, and single-bladed helicopters
More than 30,000 East African farmers are using plants to protect their corn (maize) crops from insect and weed attack. The crop protection strategy was developed by Kenyan and UK scientists.
Termed “Push-Pull’, it relies on strategically deploying attractive and repellent plants in alternating rows to control the growth of African witchweed and stemborer insects. These are the biggest threat to cereal crops in Sub-Saharan Africa. Stem borers often destroy 80% of a crop.
Read More about Plants protect plants and triple yields in East Africa
IUPAC Symposium 4A – Natural Products, Tuesday 1:45PM – 3:00PM
Leslie Weston, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga
Leslie Weston has discovered and patented two weedkillers made by plants. Now she’s investigating Patterson’s curse to see what tricks it uses to invade grasslands and repel herbivores. Her vision is to use plants or plant extracts to control plants, as an alternative to synthetic pesticides and herbicides.
Read More about Could your lawn, golf course or pasture make its own weedkiller?
IUPAC Symposium 4B – Natural Products, Tuesday 4pm
John Pickett, Rothamsted Research
John Pickett and his British colleagues are creating new kinds of perfumes or attractants for pest insects.
They’re employing farnesyl diphosphate—the ‘parent’ molecule that insects use as the starting point for many chemical signals such as sex pheromones—to create new, more powerful attractants that will be cheaper and easier to make.
IUPAC Symposium 4B – Formulation, Efficacy and the Environment
Monday 4:30pm
Heping Zhu, United States Department of Agriculture
“Current label-recommended levels of pesticides for spray application technology, pest pressure and crop growth structure are vague, frequently resulting in excessive use of pesticide,” says Heping Zhu from the USDA in Ohio.
Read More about Use your spray smarter: save money and the environment
