Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item titled "Nayar river is vanishing - a yatra reveals conservation goes beyond science and policy" appearing in ‘The Down To Earth’ dated 03.06.2025. The original application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled "Nayar …
A combination of indoor spraying and use of insecticide-treated bed nets has slashed cases of malaria, but now researchers are reporting widespread resistance of mosquitoes to the chemicals used to kill them. Agricultural pesticides appear to be playing a role in fostering this resistance. Original Source
In Africa, a combination of better medicines and the widespread use of insecticides to kill mosquitoes has led to the decline in malaria cases and deaths. Millions of people in places like Dano are living longer, healthier lives because of this public health campaign. They are also more prosperous when …
The prevailing paradigm of host-parasite evolution is that arms races lead to increasing specialisation via genetic adaptation. Insect herbivores are no exception and the majority have evolved to colonise a small number of closely related host species. Remarkably, the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, colonises plant species across 40 families …
This report provides the technical description of seven models on ecosystem services on a European scale. The ecosystem services included are carbon sequestration, erosion prevention, flood regulation, pollination, pest control, recreation and wild food provisioning. Those models can be used for analysing future developments in the delivery of ecosystem services. …
In an age of free international shipments of mail-ordered seeds and plants, more policing will not stop the global migration of hitchhiking pests. The solution is in a preemptive response based on an internationally coordinated genomic deployment of global biodiversity in the largest breeding project since the “Garden of Eden.” …
When it comes to pest control, farmers have far more influence than you might think. Scientists have found that the actions of individual farmers should be considered when studying and modelling strategies of pest control. In this latest study, the researchers presented a model to understand the actions of humans …
Spatial synchrony, the tendency of distant populations to fluctuate similarly, is a major concern in ecology. Except in special circumstances, researchers historically had difficulty identifying drivers of synchrony in field systems. Perhaps for this reason, the possibility that changes in large-scale climatic drivers may modify synchrony, thereby impacting ecosystems and …
During 2007, counties across the Midwestern US with relatively high levels of landscape simplification (i.e., widespread replacement of seminatural habitats with cultivated crops) had relatively high crop-pest abundances which, in turn, were associated with relatively high insecticide application. These results suggested a positive relationship between landscape simplification and insecticide use, …
The need to intensify agricultural production due to a growing human population requires yield gaps to be closed. In 2009 and 2010, five management factors were assessed for their individual and cumulative contributions to reducing the corn (Zea mays L.) yield gap and yield components in a corn–soybean [Glycine max …
Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides world-wide, but their fate in the environment remains unclear, as does their potential to influence non-target species and the roles they play in agroecosystems. The researchers investigated in laboratory and field studies the influence of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, applied as a coating to …
Biodiversity is undergoing unprecedented global decline. Efforts to slow this rate have focused foremost on rarer species, which are at most risk of extinction. Less interest has been paid to more common species, despite their greater importance in terms of ecosystem function and service provision. How rates of decline are …
Informal knowledge of farmers is considered to be important for many difference practices required in sustaining both crops and ecosystems, especially when no solutions are known from scientific knowledge. Farmers practice trial and error to formulate crop management technologies specific to location. In this article, we document the indigenous practices …
Recent studies have shown that neonicotinoid insecticides have adverse effects on non-target invertebrate species. Invertebrates constitute a substantial part of the diet of many bird species during the breeding season and are indispensable for raising offspring. We investigated the hypothesis that the most widely used neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, has a …
Global pollinators, like honeybees, are declining in abundance and diversity, which can adversely affect natural ecosystems and agriculture. Therefore, we tested the current hypotheses describing honeybee losses as a multifactorial syndrome, by investigating integrative effects of an infectious organism and an insecticide on honeybee health. We demonstrated that the interaction …
Lantana is a rapidly growing obnoxious weed though it has potential of purposeful utilization. Preservation of bamboo during storage with the help of preservative of natural origin i.e. Lantana extract may result in saving of material.
Environment and forests minister Hasan Mahmud slammed Transparency International, Bangladesh for its recent investigation report on the government’s climate change trust fund utilization. Read more in this October 2013 edition of the Monthly Bangladesh State of the Environment Report published by the South Asia Environment Portal. Read and Share. ENVIRONMENT …
Will Provide Info On Market-Based Demand, Nutrition Needs Of Vegetables The state agriculture department is all set to launch a GPS-based service for providing polyhouse farmers accurate information on market-based demand and nutrition needs for vegetables cultivated inside the translucent tents. In polyhouse farming, vegetables are cultivated in a controlled …
This report reflects the conclusions of the workshop and the analysis undertaken by FAO and Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research (PAR) over the past year. This workshop, held at FAO in April, 2010, explored the different challenges that confronted agriculture and the options that existed or could be developed that would …
The Potential Linked Credit Plan (PLP) for 2013-14 for Thanjavur district prepared by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) envisages a credit flow of Rs. 3,489 crore. The plan was released by K. Baskaran, District Collector, at the bankers meeting on Thursday. S.T. Ravikumar, Assistant General Manager, …
