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Locusts
are regularly in the news.
After a 20 year
lull, Desert Locusts infested 22
countries from 2003-2005,
and 13 million L of mainly organophosphate pesticides were applied
over roughly the same surface in hectares.
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The
normal method of controlling these pests is
with chemical pesticides, using ultra-low
volume (ULV) application methods. When protecting crops
a quick “knock-down” is required and fast acting insecticides,
such as pyrethroids, are required. However, many of these
chemicals cause environmental damage and some are hazardous to
humans and domestic animals. The FAO
Pesticides Referee Group (PRG) advises on application rates
of insecticides used in locust control and on the potential environmental
risk of these products. FAO
also provide technical
bulletins on locust control.
In
response to concerns
over pesticide use, an internationally funded and executed
Programme called LUBILOSA
[1] was set-up for biological control
of locusts and grasshoppers in environmentally sensitive areas.
The Programme very rapidly focused on the development of a fungus
called Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum as the
most promising agent for biological control.
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The
potential for using Metarhizium as a pest control agent was first
observed over a century ago by the Russian scientist Ilya Ilich Metschnikoff.
Since then much has been written about the use of this fungus, together
with other species such as Beauveria bassiana, as insect control
agents (mycoinsecticides), but unfortunately chemicals remain prevalent.
One of the key constraints was that Metarhizium and Beauveria,
like other fungi, usually require high humidity in order to infect their
hosts. A critical discovery changed this. Dr Chris Prior
observed that spores of these fungi could be more infectious when formulated
in oil[2], with their action more independent
of environmental conditions.
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This
discovery led to the development of an oil-based fungal product that
could be applied in a very similar way to standard locust control chemicals,
which are also formulated in oil. I called this product 'Green
Muscle'™ (a play on the
English name for Metarhizium: the 'green muscardine fungus')
and it seems to have caught on. The genus Metarhizium can
be used to kill a wide range of insects, but 'Green Muscle' is based
on a specific isolate which targets locusts and grasshoppers, and has
been proved to work effectively. However 'Green Muscle is specific,
and only works against species within this group[3] Specificity is an important
feature of biological pesticides, because they have little or no adverse
environmental impact, benefiting not only humans but also other animals:
including the natural enemies of the pests themselves. However,
from a commercial point of view, this severely limits markets and biopesticides
are most likely to be produced by the small-medium sized enterprises.
Therefore ready-made solutions are required for any problems in technical
development.
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| An
oil-based oil miscible flowable (OF) formulation of 'Green Muscle'
being poured into an aircraft tank ... |
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