Pesticides News and Research

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Cactus pear could provide biofuel as well as sustainable food and livestock feed

Could cactus pear become a major crop like soybeans and corn in the near future, and help provide a biofuel source, as well as a sustainable food and forage crop?

8 Mar 2021

Pesticide residues can negatively impact organic farms for decades

Although the use of pesticides in agriculture is increasing, some farms have transitioned to organic practices and avoid applying them.

4 Mar 2021

Link between forestry management and pesticides in aquatic species

A new study by researchers at Portland State University found mussels, clams, and oysters in watersheds along the Oregon Coast are exposed to pesticides used in managing forests.

3 Mar 2021

Promising potential for marine biofuel

For several years now, the biofuels that power cars, jet airplanes, ships, and big trucks have come primarily from corn and other mass-produced farm crops.

3 Mar 2021

New method to track how yellow fever mosquito moves through environment

The yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) is the main vector of deadly diseases like dengue fever, chikungunya, and the Zika virus, which result in hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide each year.

25 Feb 2021

Residential gardens play pivotal role in supporting pollinators in urban areas

Home gardens are by far the biggest source of food for pollinating insects, including bees and wasps, in cities and towns, according to new research.

22 Feb 2021

Understanding the herbivory-sensing mechanism of plants through elicitors

Plants are known to possess solid immune response mechanisms. One such response is “sensing” attack by herbivorous animals.

From Tokyo University of Science 18 Feb 2021

Study shows how microbiomes may recover from biodiversity loss

For many years, researchers have fought with opposing theories to describe how inter-species interactions, including competition, affect biodiversity.

5 Feb 2021

Common insecticides affect the amount of night's sleep in bumblebees and fruit flies

Just like us, many insects need a decent night's sleep to function properly, but this might not be possible if they have been exposed to neonicotinoid insecticides, the most common form of insecticide used worldwide, suggests research by academics at the University of Bristol.

21 Jan 2021

Study: Cattle feed yards emit synthetic chemical cocktails into the environment

A recent Point of Reference article, "The meat of the matter: Environmental dissemination of beef cattle agrochemicals," published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, points at synthetic chemical cocktails being emitted from cattle feed yards into the environment and how they can impact our ecosystem and our health.

15 Jan 2021

Disease-induced microbial shifts indicate new management strategies for crops

While humans are facing the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the citrus industry is attempting to control its own pernicious disease, Huanglongbing (HLB), which is also called citrus greening disease.

8 Jan 2021

Scientists discover why food-ingredient-based pesticide is effective against spider mites

Scientists have uncovered why a food-ingredient-based pesticide made from safflower and cottonseed oils is effective against two-spotted spider mites that attack over a thousand species of plants while sparing the mites' natural predators.

7 Jan 2021

Scientists modify toxic pesticide to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria

A significant class of heterocyclic compounds, called N-Aryl-C-nitroazoles, is used as fungicides and pesticides. But these substances could be harmful to human beings and cause mutations.

4 Jan 2021

New project to study origin and major pathways of pollutants into coastal lagoons

A scientific project led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena will study the major pathways delivering nutrients, trace metals and pollutants.

24 Dec 2020

Study identifies the most critical plants needed to sustain food web

University of Delaware Professor of Entomology Doug Tallamy published a new research study in Nature that systematically identifies the most critical plants needed to sustain food webs across the United States.

15 Dec 2020

Researchers analyze oxo-degradable and biodegradable plastics

The use of plastic mulch (plastic covering on crop lines) is a widespread technique used in agricultural regions in order to increase the profitability of the crops. According to the European Commission, 100,000 tonnes of plastic mulch was used per year in the European Union in 2016.

11 Dec 2020

Toxic pollutants may be influencing wildlife disease spread, finds study

Exposure to toxic pollutants associated with human activities may be influencing the spread of infectious diseases in wildlife, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.

From University of Georgia 11 Dec 2020

Neuropeptides produced by cockroaches could someday be targeted by new pesticides

Cockroaches are notorious for their abilities to survive and reproduce, much to humanity's chagrin. In addition to scurrying around at night, feeding on human and pet food, and generating an offensive odor, the pests can transmit pathogens and cause allergic reactions.

10 Dec 2020

Study examines impacts of widespread ocean pollution on human health

Ocean pollution is widespread and getting worse, and when toxins in the oceans make landfall they imperil the health and well-being of more than 3 billion people, according to a new report by an international coalition of scientists led by Boston College's Global Observatory on Pollution on Health and the Centre Scientifique de Monaco, supported by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

4 Dec 2020

English rivers are extensively contaminate with neurotoxic pesticides used in veterinary flea products

Researchers at the University of Sussex have found widespread contamination of English rivers with two neurotoxic pesticides commonly used in veterinary flea products: fipronil and the neonicotinoid imidacloprid. The concentrations found often far exceeded accepted safe limits.

17 Nov 2020