cotton

A fern-based insecticide

December 8, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A spore-producing bacterium is the source of various crystal toxins (known as Cry proteins) that are widely used in modern agriculture to combat insect pests – generally caterpillars and other larvae – that attack important crops. Pest control in corn, soybean, and cotton use these insecticidal proteins for protection against major insect pests. The pesticides are obtained from Bacillus thringiensis (Bt) bacteria to produce the proteins.

Bt Cry proteins are secreted by the bacteria but are harmless to the bacteria. They are harmless until ingested by insects and are then activated by the alkaline environment in the gut of insects which is entirely different from the acidic environment of our own digestive systems. In the insect’s gut, the proteins become a powerful feeding inhibitor by breaking down the insect’s gut lining. Bt Cry proteins are considered safe for humans.

Researchers continue to seek alternative solutions because there are concerns that insect pests could develop resistance to these toxic proteins.

Researchers from two Australian universities have analyzed the structure of a novel insecticidal protein that could be effective in protecting essential crops. The protein is naturally produced by ferns including common houseplants like brake ferns.

The newly discovered proteins offer a different mode of action from the Cry proteins and therefore are a potential solution to the problem of pest resistance to existing insecticides. The new family of insecticidal proteins is designated as iPD113 and has been shown to be very effective against caterpillar pests of corn and soybeans.

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Discovery: ferns produce crop-saving insecticide

Photo, posted October 5, 2015, courtesy of Marianne Serra via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Making Cotton More Sustainable | Earth Wise

August 16, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In the United States, cotton is a $7 billion annual crop grown in 17 states. Cotton plants in the largest producing countries in the world – India, China, and the U.S. – are genetically very similar and, like other crops that lack diversity, can be at risk.

Cultivated cotton around the world has been bred to look and act very similar. It is high yielding and easy to harvest using machines. But it is also wildly unprepared to fight disease, drought, or insect-borne pathogens.

Researchers are looking beyond breeding for ways to combat the low genetic diversity of cultivated cotton. There are new approaches that combine breeding with elements of genetic modification. Most cotton in the U.S. has already been genetically modified to resist caterpillar pests. But as new problems emerge, new solutions will be needed that may require complicated changes to the cotton genome. Getting regulatory approval for a genetically modified crop is a long and expensive process.

However, ordinary genetic modification is not the only possibility. Modern genetic sequencing technology can allow researchers to examine various wild cotton varieties and identify the genetic markers for desirable traits. Once valuable genes in wild species have been identified, traditional plant breeding techniques could be used to produce cultivated cotton varieties that are more resistant to disease and drought.

Climate change is raising average global temperatures and some important cotton-producing regions such as the U.S. Southwest are becoming drier. Researchers are hoping to produce cultivated cotton that can tolerate drought at the seedling stage. The ultimate goal is to create more sustainable and genetically diverse cotton that can thrive in a changing world.

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Cotton Breeders Are Using Genetic Insights To Make This Global Crop More Sustainable

Photo, posted November 9, 2008, courtesy of BP Takoma via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Wastewater And Ammonia | Earth Wise

October 22, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Ammonia is the second most produced chemical in the world. More than half of it is used in agriculture to produce various kinds of fertilizer, to produce cotton defoliants that make cotton easier to pick, and to make antifungal agents for fruits. Globally, ammonia represents more than a $50 billion a year market.

Current methods to make ammonia require enormous amounts of heat – generated by burning fossil fuels – to break apart nitrogen molecules so that they can bind to hydrogen to form the compound. Ammonia production accounts for about 2% of worldwide fossil energy use and generates over 400 million tons of CO2 annually.

Engineers at the University of Illinois Chicago have created a solar-powered electrochemical reaction that uses wastewater to make ammonia and does it with a solar-to-fuel efficiency that is 10 times better than previous comparable technologies.

The process uses nitrate – which is one of the most common groundwater contaminates – to supply nitrogen and uses sunlight to power the reaction. The system produces nearly 100% ammonia with almost no hydrogen side reactions. No fossil fuels are needed, and no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases are produced. The new method makes use of a cobalt catalyst that selectively converts nitrate molecules into ammonia.

Not only is the reaction itself carbon-neutral, which is good for the environment, but if it is scaled up for industrial use, it will consume wastewater, thereby actually being good for the environment. The new process is the subject of a patent filing and the researchers are already collaborating with municipal corporations, wastewater treatment centers, and others in industry to further develop the system.

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Combining sunlight and wastewater nitrate to make the world’s No. 2 chemical

Photo, posted August 29, 2018, courtesy of Montgomery County Planning Commission via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Falling Bee Populations

September 9, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

For many years, scientists have been sounding the alarm on the global struggle of pollinators. A reported 40% of invertebrate pollinator species, including bees and butterflies, are facing extinction. And since as much as three-quarters of the world’s food crops depend on pollination, the decline of these pollinators poses a major threat to global food security.

Pollinators aid in the production of all sorts of crops, including coffee, cacao, cotton, apples, and almonds – to name a few. The global value of crops requiring pollination ranges from $235-$577 billion annually.

Honey bees are among the struggling pollinators. Over the past 15 years, bee colonies have been disappearing at an alarming rate in what is known as the “colony collapse disorder.” Some regions have seen losses of up to 90%.

In the United States, managed honey bee populations declined by nearly 40% over this past winter, the largest such winter decline since surveying began in 2006.

In recent months, mass honey bee declines have also been reported in Russia, according to the BBC. Russia, which produces a whopping 110,000 tons of honey annually, expects that figure to drop by as much as 20%. The widespread bee decline is likely to not only push up honey prices, but the prices of other popular foods as well. Many staple food crops in Russia, including sunflowers, buckwheat, and fruit trees, rely on bees for pollination.

Experts have blamed the bee decline crisis on a combination of factors, including pesticides (most notably neonicotinoids), varroa mites, and climate change.

Bees play a vital role in food production, and their continued decline will have devastating consequences.

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Russia alarmed by large fall in bee populations

Photo, posted July 28, 2019, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Endangered Bees

October 27, 2016 By WAMC WEB

It’s no secret that pollinators around the world are under threat. According to a U.N. sponsored report released earlier this year, 40% of invertebrate pollinator species, such as bees and butterflies, are facing extinction. And since approximately 75% of the world’s food crops depend on pollination, the decline of these pollinators poses a major threat to food worldwide.

[Read more…] about Endangered Bees

Repurposing Ocean Plastic

October 20, 2016 By WAMC WEB

Scientists estimate that there is more than 165 million tons of plastic swirling about in our oceans today. And another 8.8 million tons of plastic ends up in oceans every year. According to a recent report from the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, there could be more plastic by weight than fish by 2050 if current trends continue.