Farmers may need to make room in their toolboxes in the next few years for some nifty new devices to kill pests.
Researchers at a recent pest management forum outlined new methods to help get rid of bugs, weeds and diseases in an age where all three are adapting to traditional, over-used stoppers.
Dan Johnson, an entomologist with Agriculture Canada in Lethbridge, Alta. cited several examples:
- Insecticides derived from microorganisms.
- Dyes eaten by some insects which rust out their innards as they bask in sunlight.
- Natural enemies like other insects and parasites.
- Fungi and protozoa.
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Johnson said some of these have not been available to farmers because governments have focused on registering products that kill at least 90 percent of pests.
But Wendy Sexsmith of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency said products which suppress pests may now be given the green light.
Johnson said products that kill even 30 percent of pests can have a role in pest management systems, where farmers use a variety of products and methods to get rid of pests causing economic harm.
He said the last 25 percent of insects are the hardest and most expensive to kill. Often, they provide food for desirable predators like birds, flies and parasites.
Reduce application
Other researchers have the “unglamorous” task of figuring out how pesticide application rates can be reduced.
“Many times, these insecticides are registered and recommended at rates that are way higher than they need to be so that they will work in all cases,” Johnson said.
Tom Wolf, a researcher with Agriculture Canada in Saskatoon, said new nozzles, shrouds and sprayers using air and electrical charges help get spray on the fields and out of the air.
The new technology will be especially valuable when precision farming becomes more widely used, Wolf said.
Elizabeth Larmond of the Canadian Grain Commission said resistance is starting to develop to malathion, a common chemical used to treat bins and stored grain for bugs.
Diatomaceous earth is a non-
toxic way to kill bugs in bins. Grain companies are also testing fumigation with carbon dioxide and moving grain pneumatically.
