Pesticides are penetrating deep into plants tissues

Over the last 30 years, the use of pesticides has spiked around the world. People now pour 2.5 million tons of these chemicals into the environment annually, contributing to a $35 billion industry run by global corporations. To make matters worse, the more people use pesticides, the more ineffective they become.

Why are crop yields lost to insects greater than ever before, when pesticide use is at an all time high?

Take a look at the citrus greening crisis happening in places like Florida and California. Citrus greening is a disease spread by the psyllid insect. This insect contaminates citrus trees by leaving a trail of bacteria that ultimately kills the trees. Florida is currently witnessing a 10 percent reduction in produce because of this.
Problems like these exist because pesticides are killing beneficial insects, like lady beetles, that were created to feasts on pests like psyllids. By killing lady beetles, pesticides destroy a balanced ecosystem.

So are pesticides doing more harm than good?

Pesticides are ravaging the environment. Farmers and researchers are now witnessing the death of entire bee colonies because of pesticides. Billions of bees are disappearing from their natural environment, as they cannot handle the poisonous nectar they're pollinating from contaminated flowers.

Systemic pesticides use on the rise

Some people are completely aware of pesticides' ability to disrupt the thyroid, adrenal and pituitary glands. These glands control hormones in the human body which guide the development, growth, gender, behavior, and reproductive systems.
That's why some people wash their fruit and vegetables before eating them. The sad reality is that pesticides exist not only as residue, but are also pent up and stored inside plant tissues. In fact, systemic pesticide use is on the rise. These chemicals, first used in 1998, have now spread to most of the conventional food supply. Systemic pesticides travel from the soil and are absorbed into vegetation, moving through the xylem and extending into the leaves and flowers, where they infect pollen and nectar. Four classes of pesticides have become commonplace and include imidacloprids, which are applied to vegetables like tomatoes and leafy greens. Thiamethoxam is typically used as seed "treatment" for corn, but is now applied to soil for fruit and vegetables. Clothianidin is also a seed contaminant, used on canola, cereals, sugar beets, and potatoes. Dinotefuran is either applied to soil or sprayed directly on leafy greens, including cucumber crops.

Stunning pesticide levels in USDA tests

Tests conducted by the US Department of Agriculture from 1999 to 2007 report stunning levels of systemic pesticides in conventional produce. They found that 70 percent of broccoli and 74 percent of fresh lettuce contained imidacloprid residues. Heavy levels of thiamethoxam were found in strawberries and sweet peppers.
Worse yet, the tests found imidacloprid levels of up to 550 parts per billion in eucalyptus nectar and pollen - three times the amount needed to kill honeybees!
Water droplets that exude from a plant's surface also tested positive for systemic pesticides; plants are practically bleeding out chemicals!
The Journal of Economic Entomology reports, "When bees consume guttation drops, collected from plants grown from neonicotinoid-coated seeds, they encounter death within a few minutes."
Additionally, systemic nitroguanidine pesticides can last up to 500 days or more in soil, affecting the ecosystem for up to two seasons, poisoning water, soil, worms, beetles, and bees which all play an important role in a thriving environment.

Four simple actions to make a difference

• Stop using pesticides altogether and appreciate a balanced ecosystem.
• Shop locally, but more importantly, shop organically. Put your money where your morals are.
• Realize that the government is not protecting the population from harmful chemicals. Even though they have more regulatory agencies than ever before, big government is actually permitting these disease spreading, Earth-ravaging chemicals to persist. • Collectively make your voice heard by signing a petition. http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/ban-systemic-pesticide
Sources for this article include
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/ban-systemic-pesticide
http://www.motherearthnews.com
http://www.panna.org/issues/food-agriculture/pesticides-on-food
http://www.organicgardeningguru.com/pesticides.html
http://www.panna.org/issues/food-agriculture/pesticides-on-food

^{Source: http://www.naturalnews.com}

Plants calling for help

When pests attack your plants, believe it or not, the plants advertise it to predators who eat those pests. Of course, they don't scream out, "Hey, there's food here!" Instead, they release volatile chemicals—natural substances that easily evaporate and diffuse through the air—that cue beneficial organisms to come over and take out the pests.

Scientists are exploring how plants use volatile compounds to attract pest predators. Researchers refer to these chemicals as herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) because they are made in response to a plant-eating pest.

Back in the 1980s, entomologists Marcel Dicke, Ph.D., of Wageningen University (then still a student) and Maurice W. Sabelis, Ph.D., of the University of Amsterdam, both in the Netherlands, were studying spider mites on bean plants when they had a crazy brainstorm. Did the infested bean plants have a mechanism for attracting predatory mites? As it turned out, they did.

Since then, scientists have found that nearly all plants produce HIPVs. For example, corn can release HIPVs under the soil to attract nematodes that parasitize corn rootworms, or above ground to attract parasitic wasps that kill stem-borer larvae. It can even sound the alarm when a stem-borer egg is laid on a corn leaf, before any damage occurs.

At the time, Dicke and Sabelis's discovery attracted little interest from plant breeders. Without realizing it, hybridizers sometimes bred the capability to produce HIPVs out of commercial crop varieties.

But times have changed. Individual plant varieties vary greatly in their ability to produce HIPVs, Dicke says. "There are some varieties that cry for help and others that whisper for help." Growers who use beneficial organisms in pest control want varieties that can "shout" with HIPVs. Breeders are now working with cucumbers to select for greater HIPV production.

Scientists also identified which volatiles corn produces when attacked by stem borers, and found that a legume in the genus Desmodium releases the same chemicals all the time. By intercropping corn with Desmodium and planting a grass attractive to stem borers around the perimeter of the field as a trap crop—a system known as "push-pull"—farmers in Kenya increased their yields more than threefold.

The technology that works in Kenya may not help American gardeners who deal with different pests and beneficial insects. More research is needed into how HIPVs might help organic growers. In the meantime, knowing about HIPVs helps us understand how our plants defend themselves against pests—without pesticides.

Originally published in Organic Gardening Magazine August/September 2013.

Distribution and Management of Meloidogyne spp. On Okra

The survey of 17 districts of the Punjab province of the country revealed that root-knot nematodes prevailed in 85.25% of okra fields with an average incidence of 38.89%. Hundred percent prevalence was recorded in Multan, Okara, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalnagar, Vehari, Rahim Yar Khan and Rawalpindi districts and a minimum prevalence of 22.4% was found in Lodhran district. The incidence was above 60% in Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Vehari and was only 4.44% in Lodhran.

The severity of infection of the nematodes was highest in Bahawalnagar and Vehari, while it was lowest in Lodhran. Of the four most common root-knot species, M. incognita contributed 74.74%, M. javanica 24.02%, M. arenaria 2% and M. hapla 0.78%. Of the twelve cultivars of okra screened for resistance against M. incognita, none was found tolerant, highly resistant or moderately resistant. Two cultivars viz. Selection-31 and Okra Sindha were susceptible and the cultivar Punjab Selection was found highly susceptible. The rest of the cultivars showed moderate susceptibility towards the nematode. All the cultivars caused reduction in various growth parameters to varying levels over their respective controls. When the effect of different inoculum levels of M. incognita was investigated on the highly susceptible okra cultivar ‘Punjab Selection’, all the densities of nematode behaved differently. The reduction in growth parameters and increases in number of galls and egg masses were found directly proportional to the inoculum level as against, the nematodes build up which was found to be inversely proportional. 2 All the tested antagonists proved effective in controlling M. incognita and significantly increased the root and shoot lengths and weights and caused reductions in number of galls and egg masses. Pochonia chlamydosporia and Pasteuria penetrans were found equally effective at a concentration of 8 103 chlamydospores / endospores per gram of soil. Incorporation of leaves of Azadirachta indica, Calotropis procera, Tagetes erecta and Datura stramonium in the soil @ 25, 50 and 75 g / kg of soil controlled M. incognita to varying degree. A. indica and C. procera caused maximum reductions in number of galls, egg masses and reproduction factor (Rf) of the nematode resulting into an increases in various growth parameters.

Reference: Muhammad Arshad , Hussain (2011) Studies on Biology, Distribution and Management of Meloidogyne spp. On Okra. PhD thesis, University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi .

A-Z list of Significant List of Plant Diseases and Pests

Common name	Scientific name	Organism	Affects	Biosecurity program	Emerging/ exotic/ notifiable*
African citrus psyllid	Trioza erytreae	Insect	All cultivars of Citrus. Murraya (native and ornamental forms of mock orange or orange jasmine) and a range of ornamentals.	Surveillance	Exotic2
Ash whitefly	Siphoninus phillyreae	Insect	Ornamentals and fruit crops	Surveillance	Emerging*3
Asiatic citrus psyllid	Diaphorina citri	Insect	All cultivars of Citrus. Murraya (native and ornamental forms of mock orange or orange jasmine) and Bergera koenigii (curry leaf). Also a range of ornamentals.	Surveillance	Exotic*2
Banana freckle	Phyllosticta musarum and Guignardia musae	Fungus	Severe infection results in yellowing of the leaf, which withers and dies.	Surveillance	Exotic*2
Black Sigatoka	Mycosphaerella fijiensis	Fungus	Bananas	Surveillance	Exotic*2
Branched broomrape (Australian Government DAFF website)	Orobanche ramosa	Parasitic weed	Broadleaf crops, broadleaf weeds, native plants	Surveillance	Exotic*2
Bunchy top	Banana bunchy top virus	Virus	Bananas	Surveillance	Emerging*3, notifiable*
Citrus canker	Xanthomonas axonopodis	Bacteria	Citrus	Surveillance	Exotic*2 , notifiable*
Citrus fruit borer	Citripestis sagittiferella	Insect	Citrus and other plants in the Rutaceae	Surveillance	Exotic*2
Citrus greening (Huanglongbing)	Candidatus liberobacter spp.	Bacteria	Citrus	Surveillance	Exotic*2 , notifiable*
Citrus powdery mildew	Oidium tingitaninum and O. citri	Fungus	Citrus	Surveillance	Exotic2
Citrus scab	Elsinoe australis	Fungus	Citrus	Surveillance	Exotic2
Citrus tristeza virus	Citrus tristeza closterovirus (CTV): mandarin stem pitting strains	Virus	Citrus	Surveillance	Exotic2
Cocoa pod borer	Conopomorpha cramerella	Insect of the family Gracillariidae	Cocoa, rambutan and longan	Plant Biosecurity and Product Integrity	Emerging
Electric ants	Wasmannia auropunctata	Ant	Environment	Eradication and control	Exotic*2, notifiable*
European house borer	Hylotrupes	Insect	Seasoned pine timber	Surveillance	Exotic*
Fire ants	Solenopsis invicta	Ant	Environment	Eradication and control	Exotic*2, notifiable*
Fusarium head blight	Caused by Fusarium species	In wheat mainly Fusarium graminearum andF. pseudogram- inearum	Wheat and barley	No	No; endemic and sporadic
Fusarium stalk rot	Caused by Fusarium species	Mainly Fusarium thapsinum and F. andyaze	Sorghum	No	No; endemic and common
Giant African snail	Achatina fulica	Gastropod	Environment	Surveillance	Exotic*2
Grape phylloxera	Daktulosphaira vitifoliae	Insect	Grapes	Surveillance	Exotic*2, notifiable*
Grapevine leaf rust	Phakopsora euvitis	Fungus	Grapes	Surveillance	Exotic*2, notifiable*
Mal secco	Phoma tracheiphila	Fungus	Citrus	Surveillance	Exotic*2
Mango leaf gall midge	Prontarinia spp.	Insect	Mangoes	Surveillance	Emerging
Mango leafhopper	Idioscopus nitidulus and I. clypealis	Insect	Mangoes	Surveillance	Exotic*2, notifiable*
Mango malformation disease	Fusarium mangiferae and other Fusarium spp.	Fungus	Mangoes	Surveillance	Exotic*2
Mango stem miner	Spulerina isonoma	Insect	Mangoes	Surveillance	Emerging*3
Mango weevil	Sternochetus frigidus	Insect	Mangoes	Surveillance	Exotic*2, notifiable*
Mediterranean fruit fly	Ceratitis capitata	Insect	Fruit and vegetables, esp. stone fruit	Surveillance	Exotic*2
Melon fly	Bactrocera cucurbitae	Insect	Fruit and vegetables, esp. cucurbits and beans	Surveillance	Exotic*2, notifiable*
Melon thrips	Thrips palmi	Insect	Fruit and vegetables	Surveillance	Emerging*3
Myrtle rust	Puccinia psidii	Fungus	Complete host range not known; however, it has been identified on Melaleuca, Syzygium and Eugenia sp.	Surveillance	Emerging*3
Navel orangeworm	Amyelois transitella	Insect	Citrus, English walnuts, pistachio, almonds and grapes	Surveillance	Exotic*2
Panama disease	Fusarium oxysprorum f. sp. cubense Fusarium species	Fungus	Bananas	Surveillance Control	Exotic*2, notifiable* Emerging*3
Papaya fruit fly See also: Winning the war against papaya fruit fly	Bactrocera papayae	Insect	Fruit and vegetables	Surveillance	Exotic, notifiable*
Papaya ringspot	Virus type P (PRSV-P)	Virus	Papaya and cucurbits	Control	Emerging*3
Pierce's disease and glassy winged sharpshooter	Xylella fastidiosa	Bacteria	Grapes	Surveillance	Exotic*2 , notifiable*
Plum pox (sharka)		Virus	Stonefruit	Surveillance	Exotic*2, notifiable*
Potato cyst nematode	Globodera rostochiensis (Wall.) Skarbilovich	Nematode	Potato plants and other members of the solanaceous plant family	Surveillance	Emerging*2, notifiable*
Red banded mango caterpillar	Deanolis sublimbalis	Insect	Mangoes	Surveillance and control	Exotic*2, notifiable*
Silverleaf whitefly	Bemisia tabaci biotype B	Insect	Range of ornamental and crop plants	Surveillance	Emerging*3
South African citrus thrips	Scirtothrips aurantii	Insect	Ornamental and fruit crops, esp. citrus	Surveillance	Emerging*3, notifiable*
Southern red mite	Oligonychus ilicus	Insect	Range	Surveillance	Exotic*2
Spiralling whitefly	Aleurodicus dispersus	Insect	Range	Surveillance	Emerging*3
Thrips and topovirus	Thysanoptera : Thripidae	Insect	Vegetables and fruit	Plant health pest and disease	Emerging*3
Vegetable leafminer	Liriomyza sativae	Insect	Common horticultural crops and ornamental plant species, esp. tomatoes, pumpkins and beans	Surveillance	Emerging*2
Yellow crazy ant	Anoplolepis gracilipes	Ant	Environment	Eradication and control	Exotic*2