Read «  Meet the Risk and Hazard Guru »

Watch 5 videos of graphical explanations, including the funny “Risk Song”.

At last,more concrete for ForumPhyto readers, CropLife also publishes a poster which shows concrete actions for mitigating the risk in the cas of Plant Protection Products. Look at Risk Mitigation. It describes actions which are put in place by regulators and PPP manufacturers.

It would be useful to add actions which are implemented by the growers themselves: agronomic and preventive actions, use of complementary (or “alternate”) means, sprayers adjusting and maintenance, appropriate filling facilities,..

In short: Yes, Pesticides are dangerous
But:
1) Even if they are not asilver bullet, they are useful for Crop Protection.
2) The real risks can be dramatically reduced by appropriate actions

To go further : “Clairement distinguer danger et risque. « Risque = Danger x Exposition »” (in French), including this article from David Zaruk (in English).

[1] International Association of plant product manufacturers

– “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…

It’s all about Good Practices in Plant Protection, especially in using pesticides.
The movie insists on the obligation of  complying with pesticide label, in particular about Harvest interval. Many other points are still up to date : other plant protection methods, evaluation and regulation of active substances, …

What is not up-to-date is quite interesting as well. Since 1963 (50 years ago…), Pesticides, their formulation , their uses, the machinery, … have improved a lot.

To go further (mostly in French):
« Histoire de la protection phytosanitaire »
« La sécurité de l’applicateur »

A very beautiful, sensible and educational film wich is supported by interviews of academic people. Not to be missed.

“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

Historical Background,
Habitats, taxonomy, and growth parameters
Complete list of microorganisms in foods
Determing microorganisms and/or their products in foods
Food protection and some properties of psychotroph, thermophiles, and radiation-resistant bacteria
Indicators of food safety, principles of quality control
Foodborne diseases
A specific chapter is dedicated to Fruit and Vegetables (pp12-148). But they are also in other parts of the book, when relevant.

This book is complete and precise, unavoidable for quality managers and scientists in microbiology.

Crop protection is critical to the growth of healthy plants, the enhancement of the environment, and the production of healthy foods.
Recognition of the critical role of crop protection in food production has been ignored and derided by some sectors. This Issue Paper reviews the benefits of crop protection, including the use of herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides in crop production. The information provides a summary of the benefits of Integrated Pest Management as well as a section focusing on new uses of pesticides that are efficacious in reducing risk and providing new benefits.

Complete, well illustrated, it includes more than 200 pests and natural enemies, and how to manage them. It includes also definitions, identification features including for larvae, quick reference for pests tresholds, and life cycle descriptions

It cannot be ignored.

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

They react to sunshine, gravity, temperature and other stimuli.

Plants can be trained against attacks of pests.

In short, they are more “clever” than what we usually think. But we must be cautious of using correct wordings about this “mind”, this “intelligence”

“Can plants think?” is an other short video on the same item.