New Biopesticides for Roses
© Mark Whitelaw
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has placed an emphasis on the use of what it calls "biopesticides" - three types of pesticides derived from such natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria and minerals. The three types are
1) microbial pesticides - those pesticides which contain a microorganism like a fungus, virus, protozoan or bacterium as the active ingredient.
2) plant pesticides - those pesticides derived from genetic material produced by the plant that have pesticidal properties.
3) biochemical pesticides - those pesticides that are derived from naturally occurring substances and control pests by non-toxic mechanisms.
In the last 12 months, no less than 14 new use biopesticides have been approved by the EPA, and no less than 13 more new ingredient biopesticides have been applied for. You can expect to see many of these products on nursery shelves and in mailorder catalogs by next spring.
Of interest to us rosarians are those new biopesticides approved for ornamentals and food crops. One such approval is hydrogen peroxide recently approved as a fungicide for food crops and post harvest potatoes and nuts in this country.
Just this past month, the US EPA received applications for approval for two new products: one, a fungicide; the other, an insecticide. BioSafe Systems of Glastonbury, CT has applied for registration of sodium percarbonate as a preventative and control "of horticultural diseases in commercial greenhouses, garden centers, landscapes, nurseries and interiorscapes." And from AVA Chemical Ventures of Protsmouth, NH, sucrose octanoate has been applied for use as "insect control in greenhouses, nurseries, and field crops."
Earlier this summer, the EPA received applications for two different strains of the same bacillus for use as a fungicide and "plant strengthening" agent. Bacillus subtilis var. amyloliquefaciens strain FZB2 and B. subtilis strain QST713 are aimed at killing general plant fungal pathogens. This bacillus has been previously identified as a disease suppressant for seeds and soil, but these new strains now claim "terrestrial control of various fungal plant pathogens."
Still another new use application is Trichoderma harziaanum strain T-39, currently a seed treatment for soil pathogens, now looking to because a general purpose garden fungicide.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Mark Whitelaw's Rose Gardening topic, please visit the Discussions page.