Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
July 27, 2009
Source:
SciDevNet
by Deodatus Balile
Crops in East and Southern Africa have been saved from
devastation by the first large-scale use of a biopesticide made
of fungal spores.
Locust swarms lay waste to crops, with just a small part of a
swarm — around a tonne of locusts — eating the same amount of
food in one day as around 2,500 people, according to the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The FAO feared that infestations of red locusts would turn into
a full-scale invasion, endangering the food security of
millions. But spraying the biopesticide, Green Muscle, in
Tanzania appears to have contained the outbreak.
Green Muscle consists of spores of the fungus Metarhizium
anisopliae suspended in mineral oils. The fungi grow in the
locust, producing a toxin and weakening them, making them easy
prey for birds and lizards.
Most infected locusts die within 1–3 weeks, depending on the
temperature and humidity. The pesticide has an 80 per cent
mortality rate.
The spraying campaign, organised by the FAO and the
International Locust Control Organization for Central and
Southern Africa, started on 21 May in Tanzania. Around 10,000
hectares have been sprayed so far.
The FAO will spend US$2 million deploying the pesticide in
Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique over the next few months.
A senior FAO locust expert, Christian Pantenius, told SciDev.Net
that African countries should embrace the technology, which
costs just US$17 per hectare.
Green Muscle kills only locusts and grasshoppers, unlike
chemical pesticides, which can harm a wide range of organisms.
Even the birds and lizards that eat the treated locusts suffer
no side effects, says Pantenius.
Since its commercial release in 2000, Green Muscle has been
tried in Madagascar, Niger, Senegal and Sudan, but this is its
first large-scale application.
However, the time lag from spraying to the locusts dying — and
the fact that the fungus survives for weeks — means that Green
Muscle is more appropriate for prevention than controlling
outbreaks, says Pantenius.
Baldwyn Torto of the International Centre of Insect Physiology
and Ecology in Kenya, told SciDev.Net that Senegal and South
Africa are ready to produce Green Muscle. |
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