Predatory insects have not yet been approved for import from China, but insecticides - which can be effectively applied until June 15 - already are showing they can save individual trees. Predatory insects might be brought in from China to control the borers, which are believed to have migrated to Michigan from Asia in cargo packing material. Meanwhile, insecticides can be applied in one of three ways - as spray, soil drench or injection directly into tree trunks. The chemical is produced...

How does public policy get shaped when governmental agencies are captured by industry? How do we address critical social and environmental issues when the regulators are advocates for the regulated? How does science get used by those with special interests? These questions are at the heart of Pete Daniel's new book, Toxic Drift. How does public policy get shaped when governmental agencies are captured by industry? How do we address critical social and environmental issues when the...

In the Pacific Northwest, where the moth (Phthorimaea operculella) is a major problem, potato growers normally treat their crop with broad-spectrum insecticides. However, some of the most effective insecticides cannot be used within two weeks of harvest. That s the implication of an ongoing Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study in which a blend of alcohols, esters and other gaseous compounds emitted by the fungus Muscador albus killed adult tuber moths and their larvae. Their...

The mites are a naturally occurring pest, but could force the agriculture industry to use expensive insecticides or risk losing crops or producing lower crop yields and lower quality, local ag officials say. Banks grass mites, known scientifically as Oligonychus pratensis, pierce and suck the juice out of plants, reducing the crop's yield and quality by producing wilted and dry leaves. A Banks grass mite infestation in Central Oregon could reduce yields and damage the region's emerging...

Department of Agricultural Extension said the government allocated only 79 tonnes urea for the district for the current month against the demand of 176 tonnes. Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, farmer of Boleya village in Sadar upazila, said he brought one acre of land under jute cultivation this season but could not use fertilizer till now. Jute cultivators said that they could not use urea on about 550 hectares of land, as they didn't receive any for the last two months. But the district is yet to...