Concerned with the variety of pests and insects that wreak havoc on plants, animals, and humans, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has adopted a new approach in it’s continuous pest control battle, and this novel concept is based on eradication of a insect’s male population. The federal government, via their Department of Agriculture, has released the year end report that states that one of the promising insect control methods involves male eradication via potent attractants.
One small Pacific island, just north of Guam, was used as an example of the capability of attractants. Oriental fruit flies were completely eradicated there with their use. The experiment was carried out to prove attractants as useful in this manner. The chemical used in the experiment, methyl eugenol, was created in a laboratory environment and has been demonstrated to be nearly irresistible for the targeted male oriental fruit fly, luring them to the insecticide and away from the precious crops. Naturally, by removing the males there was no further reproduction in the species and it eventually was removed over the generation.
The Department of Agriculture has said that these recent experiments conducted to find what chemicals female insects use to attract the male members of their species has shown several promising new chemicals that could be used. Other species in which attractants have been developed Types Of Pest include houseflies, lesser peach borers and cabbage loppers. By bringing the insect males in using chemo-sterilants, which are chemicals effective in eliminating insect’s reproductive abilities, this research marked the first step forward in dominating insect pests.
Scientists are now hoping to isolate the exact chemical that allows them to attract the male members of the species so they will be able to mass produce it inexpensively. Chemo-sterilization is a method of pest extermination that has provided encouraging results. By experimenting with houseflies, boll weevils and many other pests, this idea was discovered.
For example, in an attempt to end the infestation of screwworm flies in southwestern livestock, gamma radiation was used to sterilize the male population. Several years ago this extermination procedure was utilized in the southeast states, with very positive results. The method behind the screwworm Pesticides Examples eradication was releasing sterilized flies, created in a laboratory, into the native population to try and mate. Because the female screwworms only mate once before they die, the fact they are mating with sterile flies means the population fails to grow and in fact decreases severely.
The Department of Agriculture hopes that they are on the right track towards removing nasty pests like boll weevils, houseflies, and cotton pests to make things easier for farmers. The scientists have been able to both find a substance in cotton plants that turns off male weevils, and also found another one that attracts them. The Agriculture Department began undertaking these efforts because the federal crop insurance covers millions of dollars in crop production investments, so they want to make sure this large investment stays secure. The government agency reports that, insured against the affects of natural disasters, millions of acres producing hundreds of thousands of crops have been protected.
Home