Biological Control ~ Backfiring in India (Weed Control with Insects) ~ an insight

Biological Control ~ Backfiring in India (Weed Control with Insects) ~ an insight

Prickly Pear (Tamil: Sappaathik Kalli) Opuntia dillenii, is a menacing weed on road sides and field bunds in India and Sri Lanka and it is one of the earliest success stories for use of bio-control agents.In this case, a mealy bug (Tamil: Maavup Poochi) was used. This bio-control agent is called, Dactylopius tomentosus.

Based on this success story, many countries (Australia, Cuba etc) used different bugs (Species of Dactylopius on different species of Opuntia). Nearly five decades later, in India, we still find Opuntia dillenii coming back to life and still the insect (Dactylopius tomentosus) clinging on to its dear life.

Opuntia is too strong and comes back to life, in the very same place where it perished after being sucked sapless by the bug. Science has learnt a certain lesson here..Nature does fight back !.

Prickly Pear on the road side (Near Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India : Dec 08, 2013)

Close-Up shots showing mealy bug (white blobs), still clinging onto the cactus (Location: As above)

The second lesson that Bio-control Advisors learnt from this particular insect is that once the main host (in this case Opuntia) is not available aplenty, then the bio-control can also turn into a pest damaging crops. A very valuable lesson learnt, as mealy bug today is a serious threat on commercial farms / plantations of Papaya, Rose and also to home garden plants like Hibiscus, Custard Apple, Guava, Crotons, Plumeria, Mussaenda, Poinsettia etc.

This bug has a white wooly covering and pesticides cannot penetrate the cover the kill the insect at later stages. Dichlorvos is the only compound (with its vapourizing action) that is found effective to clean by swabbing. This guy (Mealy bug) is sedantary and cannot move by itself. Therefore, it attracts ants by secreting a syrupy concoction, liked by ant brotherhood, who for returning the favour, transport the mealy bugs from one host plant to another. Hence, as an additional precaution, ant powder is applied at the base of host plants to prevent this transport getting anywhere nearer.

This is how a successful Bio-control agent has turned into a pest !

Who said Bio-control agents are host specific..? 

Ask our papaya growers and rose farmers in India !

Save Our Native Seeds..

THE RIGHT TO SAVE SEED

Came across a recommendation in the Net to look-up a a video titled " The Right to save seed"...

Good one.

"The Right To Save Seed is an animated movie which explains when farmers can resow their seed in Europe. With the help of Magnum, Agata, Dali and Mona Lisa — four varieties of potatoes that really exist — the movie covers different legal situations with humour and a lot of creativity!

Even though farmers have made their own seed over centuries, they are not able to resow all the seed they buy, or can only resow it if certain conditions are met. Resowing is sometimes prevented by the seed sale contract, sometimes by the contract that ties them to the buyer of their crop, and sometimes by intellectual property rights.

The Right To Save Seed is an animated movie which explains when farmers can resow their seed in Europe. With the help of Magnum, Agata, Dali and Mona Lisa — four varieties of potatoes that really exist — the movie covers different legal situations with humour and a lot of creativity!

Even though farmers have made their own seed over centuries, they are not able to resow all the seed they buy, or can only resow it if certain conditions are met. Resowing is sometimes prevented by the seed sale contract, sometimes by the contract that ties them to the buyer of their crop, and sometimes by intellectual property rights.

Inspired by Grocery Store Wars, by Free Range Studios, Shabnam Anvar (PhD in Seed Regulation), Mathieu Eisinger (Producer), Jeanne Rouchel (Producer and Designer) and Olivia Zarcate (Legal Infography) used colourful creativity to translate a complex legal situation into a fun story for all. Their goal: help farmers and consumers choose their choice of seed and food knowing what the implications are."

The link is:

http://truththeory.com/2013/10/27/the-right-to-save-seed/

To me two bits of information came to mind:

1985: An article in the (then alive) "The Illustrated Weekly of India" by Tom Alwarez, captioned "The Great Gene Robbery". It highlighted how popular traditional Indian Rice varieties maintained in germplasms at MP and Orissa made its way to IRRI, Philippines.

1989: Asia Pacific Weed Science Society Conference in Seoul, (South) Korea: After my presentation of a Weed Science paper was over, I got into another session where a Thai Professor was listing out "local" varieties for herbicide resistance. One of the varieties had a funny sounding name and I waited for the visual. The variety's name was "Muttumanickam".

With IR-8, rice varieties ushered-in Taichung Native-1 gene pools into India. We got higher yields. More pests and diseases. We lost our gene pool and tracing back our "roots".

Transplanted Rice in mature stage

Germplasm (varieties) at IRRI, Philippines

Wild Rice Harvesting in 19th Century

Photos from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oryza_sativa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_rice

Indian Spice : Kalpaasi is a Lichen, acutally !

Indian Spice: Kalpaasi is a Lichen, actually !

In India, spices (for flavor) and condiments (for flavor and taste) are used a lot in native cuisine. Biriyani is no exception. Recently, read in a magazine about the source of one of the spices, Kalpaasi. This is collected from forests by native tribals. Famous Western Ghats (Western chain of mountains) in South India has this rich resource.This ash coloured, flattened, dry matter is collected from tall trees and sometimes from rock surfaces of interior forests. Sometimes, during rainy periods, people slip during the process and even lose their lives. 

Looking at the picture in the magazine (Kungumam : Tamil Weekly: 28.OCT.2013 / www.kungumam.co.in), something struck me. This is actually a lichen (pronounced "li'ken"), unlike other Spices and Condiment, which are from higher plant sources.  

 Parmelia sulcata

 Plastimatia glauca

Plastimatia herrei

[Pictures are by Derrick Ditchburn: www.dereila.ca)

Lichen is an unique association of two organisms, a fungus and an alga(e) or moss, who co-exist in a mutually beneficial live-in relationship.One helps in rooting into the host (tree or the holding surface) and the helps in making food by photosynthesis. A clean example of give-and-share policy. Most important thing is, lichens are full of nutrients and are rich in antibiotics.Yellow lichens have poisonous compounds, but green and grey ones are edible in many countries.

So, it is in fact interesting to connect Science with ethnic food (A common spice that has nutrient values and antibiotic properties, after the condiment in Indian Cuisine, Turmeric with antiseptic properties, went waging intellectual property wars beyond continents). Should some one go for patenting or GIS marking Indian Kalpaasi ? It is about time..