Biocontrol News and Information
CABI Publishing


March 1997 Vol.18 No.1

Conference Reports

UN Summit

The United Nation's World Food Summit was held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organisa-tion (FAO) in Rome in the second week of November. The aim was to find ways to reduce the present levels of hunger in many areas of the world and to boost food production by up to 70% in the next 30 years in order to feed the growing population.

Among the impressive promises of genetically engineered supercrops that could give a second "green revolution" and the voices of dissent that claimed that this would benefit the biotechnology companies of the developed world at the expense of poor farmers in developing countries, there were strong calls for adopting sustainable pest control methods as a cornerstone of any strategy to increase food production.

Kong Luen Heong of the International Rice Research Institute pointed out that about 80% of insecticides sprayed on rice in the Philippines were wasted because they were sprayed at the wrong time and aimed at the wrong pests, and thus had no impact on yields. Khun Lakchai Meenakanit of the Thai Department of Agricultural Extension said that in Thailand around 75% of farmers sprayed their rice within a month of planting, which is unnecessary. Representatives from the World Health Organisation told the meeting that pesticides cause nearly a quarter of a million deaths and 3 million cases of severe poisoning each year, mostly due to misuse.

Hans Herren, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya, said that genetically engineered crops and pesticides should be a last resort to reduce pest damage, and that biological control should be the first method of choice. He cited the successful cassava mealybug programme in Africa as an example. He also called for more collaboration with farmers before new varieties were released into the field. This point was echoed by Peter Kenmore, FAO IPM Training Programme, who told the audience that farmers have a tradition of local innovation that is often overlooked, and that asking them about local pests was frequently the key to developing control strategies.

Chromolaena Workshop

The 4th International Workshop on Biological Control and Management of Chromolaena odorata was held in Bangalore, India, on 14-18 October. It was organized by the Association for Advancement of Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems, Division of Entomology and Nematology, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, and sponsored by the International Chromolaena Network and the IOBC Working Group on Chromolaena. A total of 56 delegates from Australia, Guam, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Pohnpei, South Africa and the UK deliberated on various aspects, including management strategies, of this noxious weed of plantation crops and forests in tropical regions of the world.

The following recommendations emerged from the workshop:

1. So far, only Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata has been used for the biological control of C. odorata in many countries. Importation of other effective natural enemies, such as Procecidochares connexa, Mescina parvula, Melanagromyza eupatoriella, Actinote anteas and others, should be considered.

2. Countries where Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata has been introduced should consider introduction and establishment of Procecidochares connexa from IOPRI in Indonesia. Host specificity testing of this natural enemy has been carried out in Indonesia and the information on host plants tested is available.

3. The Workshop highlighted the importance of the complex of alien invasive weeds, including C. odorata, in the Western Ghats and other ecologically important regions in the humid tropics, which are threatening the biodiversity of these regions; this should be brought to the attention of the Indian and other governments and international donors, in order to seek support and funding for multi-disciplinary programmes of manage-ment of these weeds.

4. National governments should promote collaborative programmes nationally and internationally on management of C. odorata, Parthenium hysterophorus, Mikania micrantha, Lantana camara, Ageratina adenophora and other alien invasive weeds.

5. National governments, through their Agricultural Research Agencies, should include use of pathogens in biological and integrated control programmes against noxious weeds.

6. For immediate suppression of C. odorata in certain conditions, where alternative technologies are not available, research on herbicides and other methods should be encouraged.

7. Alternative uses of C. odorata, such as use as a green manure crop, should be explored in certain agro-ecological systems.

8. A national network should be formulated to coordinate the research programmes on C. odorata in India.

9. Training programmes on biological control of exotic weeds at national, regional and international levels should be encouraged.

10. In view of the serious problems caused by C. odorata in developing countries in Asia and Africa to the livelihood of small and medium scale farmers, and the threat to biodiversity in natural ecosystems, countries of origin of the plant (tropical Americas from Argentina to the USA) are requested to assist researchers from affected countries by allowing exploration for and collection and export of promising candidate organisms for biological control of the weed, without imposing administra-tive and other barriers to the export of live materials.

Limited copies of the printed Souvenir cum Abstracts of the papers presented at the workshop are avail-able at nominal cost. Requests for copies, with bank drafts for US$10 (Rs150 within India) made in favour of the Association for Advancement of Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems, payable in Bangalore, should be sent to: K.P. Jayanth, Secretary AAPMHE, Division of Entomology and Nematology, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta Lake Post, Bangalore - 560089, India.