A couple things I just ran into that I thought people here might be interested in. The first one I think people here would have predicted.:
"Apples from trees pollinated by insects are bigger, rounder, and more desirable, according to new research. The study, published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, values the annual contribution of insects to two of Britain's most popular varieties, Cox and Gala, at just under £37 million.
It also says that a lack of pollinating insects, such as bees and hoverflies, could be costing the Gala industry millions of pounds a year. ...
The research was carried out on six Cox and Gala orchards in the apple-growing region of Kent. At each site, some of the branches were covered with a fine PVC mesh, allowing wind and rain to get through but keeping insects out.
Trees that were left open to bugs yielded both more fruit, and a larger proportion of higher-value class-one apples. " https://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/stor ... eConsent=A
So though it isn't spelled out quite clearly, apparently the comparison is between insect pollinated trees and wind pollinated. Although it's always good to have evidence, I doubt any of us are surprised that insects are important in the pollination of apple trees and many other crops.
So that one makes this even more important, relevant to the decline in honeybees:
"The brain function of important pollinators can be affected by pesticides even at low concentrations, say scientists.
The study, published in Nature Communications, finds that neonicotinoid and organophosphate pesticides disturb the function of the honeybees' learning centre in the brain.
'These pesticides, at field-relevant concentrations, cause hyperactivity very quickly,' says Dr Chris Connolly of the University of Dundee, one of the study's authors. 'The prediction is that the bee is not able to learn efficiently.
Connolly and his team find that because the two pesticides affect the same part of the brain in the same way, using them together makes the problem even worse.
'Both pesticides have exactly the same effect. They work additively with one another,' he says. "
https://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=1420
Incidentally, I was very interested to note the word hyperactivity in there along with learning difficulties. We are currently having an epidemic of ADHD, hyperactivity, and learning difficulties amongst our children....
Organophosphates and neonicotinoid pesticides are major classes of pesticides and between them include a lot of the most used ones. Organophosphates include malathion, methyl parathion, the nerve gas sarin, trithion, guthion, spectracide, and many others. This has more info about them: https://www.toxipedia.org/display/toxipe ... phosphates
Neonicotinoid pesticides include imadicloprid, chlothianidin, dinotefuran and many others. This has a list of brand names of common home garden products containing them, including pretty much anything from Bayer Advanced. https://www.beyondpesticides.org/pollina ... _final.pdf
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Fascinating Rainbow..
Over this side of the pond we have a system of control over the use of these organophosphate pesticides.
To get our fruit into the supermarkets orchards have to registered in a scheme were orchards and operational records are inspected every year to ensure certain details are adhered to.
If any of these particular chemicals are used one of their side effects is to remove two of the most beneficial creatures from the orchard. namely the Typhlodromid Mite and the Anthrocorid Bug. Both of these are superb controllers of Aphid , Spider Mites and Rust Mite.
They are though very susceptible to the organo's.
So the orchards are inspected ...no sign of these two and the farm will lose its ability to market the fruit to the main buyer of their produce.
This ensures that only 'specifics' are used during the season and a lot more natural predation is used.
Over this side of the pond we have a system of control over the use of these organophosphate pesticides.
To get our fruit into the supermarkets orchards have to registered in a scheme were orchards and operational records are inspected every year to ensure certain details are adhered to.
If any of these particular chemicals are used one of their side effects is to remove two of the most beneficial creatures from the orchard. namely the Typhlodromid Mite and the Anthrocorid Bug. Both of these are superb controllers of Aphid , Spider Mites and Rust Mite.
They are though very susceptible to the organo's.
So the orchards are inspected ...no sign of these two and the farm will lose its ability to market the fruit to the main buyer of their produce.
This ensures that only 'specifics' are used during the season and a lot more natural predation is used.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
It sure does seem like Europe, including the UK, is so far ahead of us on sustainability issues, pesticides, energy conservation, development of solar power and other alternative energy sources, etc.
When catching up on some reading I came across information on honey bees which was interesting enough to share.
The article stated, Be careful where you shop. Environmental group "Friends of the Earth" purchased bee-friendly plants from three major big box retailers around the country and had them analyzed at a laboratory. Seven of the 13 plants tested contained Neonicotinoids.
As they explained Neonicotinoids known for its persistence in plant tissues, and continues into the new growth of the plant up to the blooms, and into the pollen. (Which bees eat) The environment remains deadly for months and even years, and which was said an increasing amount of evidence linking to Neonicotinoids in the account of the decline of bee populations worldwide.
One more note* The French fought back when they lost number amounts of their bee population. They took all their dead bee hives and suppers and threw them over the fence at the Bayer factory in France. All those with dead bee hives threw them over the fence making a large mount and then they set it on fire.
They took action..
The article stated, Be careful where you shop. Environmental group "Friends of the Earth" purchased bee-friendly plants from three major big box retailers around the country and had them analyzed at a laboratory. Seven of the 13 plants tested contained Neonicotinoids.
As they explained Neonicotinoids known for its persistence in plant tissues, and continues into the new growth of the plant up to the blooms, and into the pollen. (Which bees eat) The environment remains deadly for months and even years, and which was said an increasing amount of evidence linking to Neonicotinoids in the account of the decline of bee populations worldwide.
One more note* The French fought back when they lost number amounts of their bee population. They took all their dead bee hives and suppers and threw them over the fence at the Bayer factory in France. All those with dead bee hives threw them over the fence making a large mount and then they set it on fire.
They took action..