The Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers presented its report on ‘Insecticides and Pesticides – Promotion and Development including Safe Usage – Licensing Regime for Insecticides’ on December 19, 2023. Pesticides are broadly of four types: insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and bio-pesticides. Herbicides kill/control the growth of weeds, and have the …
Occupational health, well researched in developed countries, remains neglected in developing countries. One issue of particular importance is the use of pesticides on farms, which can have both chronic and acute impacts on human health. This paper focuses on acute health impacts associated with pesticide exposure in rural Nepal. Based …
As part of its national campaign for food safety, China's ministry of agriculture has banned the production and export of five highly poisonous pesticides. Gao Hongbin, vice-minister of agriculture, made the announcement at a media briefing organized by the State Council Information Office on October 30. Since the country has …
Pesticide consumption in Punjab shot up following the Green Revolution. According to the Directorate of Plant Protection and Quarantine, pesticide consumption in the state increased from 3,200 tonnes in 1980-81 to 7,300 tonnes in 1994-95 but came down to 5,970 tonnes in 2005-06 Pesticide use in Punjab is the highest …
The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) division of the state agriculture department advises farmers on pest control and is supposed to train them about the judicious use of pesticides. Farmers in Malwa, however, deny receiving such training. IPM is based on the economic threshold level set by the Punjab Agriculture University. …
The US Environmental Protection Agency has approved the use of a new pesticide despite opposition from more than 50 scientists across the country, including five Nobel Prize-winning chemists. Methyl iodide is now the planned replacement for methyl bromide that has been phased out as a fumigant because of its harmful …
immune system: Scientists in the UK are building a mathematical model of immune responses in people. The work will improve the understanding of the human immune system by allowing all the scientific disciplines working on it to have a common reference point and language. The mathematicians will investigate how different …
reliance gas row: In an interim order, the Bombay High Court has ruled that Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) cannot be forced to sell gas from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields to firms run by his brother Anil Ambani at "subsidized rates and incur loses.' Delivering its verdict on …
The environment committee of the European Union on September 12 approved amendments of a draft regulation intended to update its existing law on the authorisation of new pesticide products. The amendment aims to improve protection of health and the environment, support farming, reduce animal testing and boost competition among pesticide …
The 28 pesticide residues detected in this analysis of eight fruit items purchased inside the European Parliament building represent the tip of an iceberg: for in total the wider EU food chain is known to be contaminated with at least 324 different agrochemicals. Within this figure, some of Europe
The tussle on the Colombia-Ecuador border over the spraying of herbicide by Colombia has taken a new turn. The spraying, done to eradicate coca plantations, had driven many Colombians to take shelter in Ecuador to avoid being caught in a crossfire between the government's coca eradication efforts
Despite widespread concerns, the New Zealand government has again okayed aerial spraying of poison 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate). The country uses about 80 per cent of the world's production of poison 1080. With around 70 million possums munching trees and spreading bovine tuberculosis, the country has no option but to continue …
a new cost-effective method has been developed to trace pesticides in food. Researchers say this enzyme-based technique is quick and cost-effective. The method uses a specially devised set of screen-printed electrodes, which are coated with enzyme acetycholine esterase (AChE). The enzyme controls nerve impulses and is easily inhibited by pesticides. …
The US environment regulator has been sued for approving a popular pesticide, harmful for farm workers and rural residents. On July 31, farmer unions and NGOs filed a lawsuit in the San Jose federal court against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approving the pesticide chlorpyrifos, sold under several brand …
