– “What is a pesticide?” (en français, in English, en español), dedicated to definition and utility of pesticides.

– “Reminder” (en français, in English, en español), utile rappel historique.

– “Herbicides, what for ?” (en français, in English, en español), with a lot of details about the roles of herbicides.

As an illustration of his writings, his conclusion about herbicides is:
“Good use of herbicides significantly brings more advantages than disadvantages.
The overall environmental impact of their use is very positive if the application is carried out with the right products, the necessary and sufficient dose at the right time and with equipment in good condition and properly adjusted.
You could say that, currently, herbicides are a necessary evil in agriculture. It is likely that this situation continues long. Which probably change is the type of products that will be used in the future and their environmental impact.
Herbicides are necessary for humanity. They are one of the tools available to agriculture to increase food production to meet the needs of a global population steadily increasing.
Let us develop them and use them in a precise and reasoned manner. We get all the benefits they can bring us, minimizing their disadvantages.”
Not a word to be changed…

“Healthy food is a paramount request from consumers. It includes food safety and sustainable development. When speaking of natural products like fruit and vegetables, growing a safe  and environment friendly food is a huge challenge when bad weather conditions.”

For example in 2014 for stone fruit, in certain periods, it was nearly impossible to comply with the requirement from some german supermarkets of a maximum number of residues
This kind of request is not science based and, in some cases, is a threat to the respect of environment and good agriculture practices, especially in order to avoid pest resistances.
This situation is very difficult especially for fruit and vegetable growers who face the “minor uses” concern : they already lack regulatory solutions to protect their crops.

The panel will also address these issues for all fresh crops.

The panelists :
Luc Peeters, chairman of the Copa-Cogeca phytosanitary group
Manel Simon, Afrucat marketing manager
Marco Salvi, director of Salvi UNACOA and chairman of the association Fruitimprese

And that is the  result of a research done by Texas A&M, the Agricultural and Mechanical Texas University.

“When you think about apple production now, a grower needs to walk through his orchard every day to make sure he sees any new insect pests or any new disease pests that come into an orchard,” says plant pathologist Kirk D. Broders, an assistant professor at UNH. “But when you’re talking about a 10, 20, 100-acre orchard, your ability to do that on a daily basis is almost impossible.”
But it is possible with a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, carrying an infrared camera that takes multispectral images of the orchard. A computer program crunches the wavelengths in each pixel, making it possible to hone in on colors and temperatures – and locate apple scab.

Read the story on the modern farmer site

The significance of root exudates as belowground defense substances has long been underestimated, presumably due to being buried out of sight.

The summary is available for free. The full text can be purchased.

Read the story (in English)

“Surprising information plays a fundamental role in the learning and adoption of new behaviors”

If you want workers to be compliant with handwashing, the best way is the example. Managers should wash their own hands regularly.

“Handwashing signs in restrooms don’t matter; washing hands matters.”

It seems quite efficient. But the story concludes : “Be sure to provide the little critters with sufficient drinking water and additional nutrition”…

To go further, watch IBMA Leaflet (International Biocontrol manufacturers Association) on macro-organisms in « Fiches Protection Intégrée (IPM) d’IBMA » on ForumPhyto site (Both in French, but quite illustrated)

“The study presents the current scientific state of art on nano-pesticides and identifies direction priorities for future research”

“Nano-pesticides may reduce environmental contamination through the reduction in pesticide application rates and reduced losses. However, nano-pesticides may also create new kinds of contamination of soils and waterways due to enhanced transport, longer persistence and higher toxicity.”

The current level of knowledge is poor. So “a better understanding of the fate and effect of nano-pesticides after their application is required”

Read the whole story on Science Daily

“For the past 40 years, this valley has been the scene of a struggle to find a balance between some of the most intensive farming in the world and what’s left of nature.”

“Then, six years ago, a food safety crisis shook the Salinas Valley. Bags of pre-washed spinach from this area, shipped to many places across the country, killed several people and sent hundreds more to the hospital. The leaves had been contaminated with a deadly kind of E coli bacteria. Those microbes can be carried into a lettuce or spinach field by wild animals — even little mice that might find shelter in grass along drainage ditches.”

“The farmers increasingly were being told, ‘This (drainage ditches) is a potential risk to your operation”. And one by one, the producers came in, sprayed it with herbicide, and returned the ditch to its bare dirt condition. It wasn’t just this ditch. Across the valley, trees, grass and hedgerows disappeared. So did ponds that might attract ducks and geese. Farmers built fences along the Salinas River channel, to keep wildlife that lives there from crossing into fields.”

“That campaign has been a success, in one way. During the past few years, there have not been any more big national outbreaks of disease that were traced to leafy greens.”

In the story, Bob Martin, a grower, gives a demonstrative example of what is at stake : he always liked having hawks or owls around, because they help control the mice. But now, those birds are seen as a threat, too. “I mean, it’s frowned on to put up an owl box. The food safety people say, ‘Owls poop, too.’ OK. But what do they poop? They poop out the mouse that you didn’t want in your salad!” Martin says. “Everything we do is conflicting! It seems like we can’t do anything right!”

This is a typical example where a benefit/risk analysis is crucial. A sensible analysis, Not an emotional one. Not so easy in these days…