FAO Tests Green Pesticide

ROME - Jun 28/05 - SNS -- The Food and Agriculture Organization says field tests of a biological based pesticide have proven successful in trials aimed at controlled Desert Locusts.

During a field trial organized jointly by the plant protection authorities of Algeria and FAO near El Oued in eastern Algeria, the biopesticide, called Green Muscle, was sprayed on more than 1 400 hectares of land infested by Desert Locust larvae. Locusts were clearly weakened and started moving slowly after four days and were then eaten by birds, lizards and ants.

The new control method uses a natural fungus, called Metarhizium anisopliae, which infects locust hoppers in such a way that they stop feeding and die in one to three weeks.

"This successful large-scale test is a major breakthrough in the battle against locusts," said Niek van der Graaff, Chief of FAO's Plant Protection Service.

Subscribers can read the full text of the article by Clicking here