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 …
Aren’t critics of genetically engineered food anti-science? Isn’t the debate over GMOs (genetically modified organisms) a spat between emotional but ignorant activists on one hand and rational GM-supporting scientists on the other? A new report released , “GMO Myths and Truths,” challenges these claims. The report presents a large body …
With the vector species such as mosquitoes developing resistance to the insecticides being used currently, the Indian Medical Council for Research (ICMR) is framing a common protocol for uniform evaluation of the insecticides for better outcome. Although, general guidelines for evaluation of insecticides are already available, discrepancies in the methodology …
Washington: A collaboration between a scientist and a designer from Africa has resulted in the creation of a fashionable hooded bodysuit embedded at the molecular level with insecticides for warding off mosquitoes infected with malaria. The disease is estimated to kill 655,000 people annually on the continent. Though insecticide-treated nets …
This new study by UK-based PG Economics presents the findings of research on global socio-economic and environmental impact of biotech crops from 1996-2010, since they were first commercially planted on a significant area. This study presents the findings of research into the global socio-economic and environmental impact of biotech crops …
The Global Plan for Insecticide Resistance Management in malaria vectors (GPIRM) is a call to action. Through this document, WHO and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership call on governments of malaria-endemic countries, donor organizations, UN agencies, as well as research and industry partners, to implement a five-pillar strategy to tackle …
Environmental advocacy group Greenpeace said on Tuesday that an investigation it had conducted found tea bags sold in China by Unilever's Lipton brand contained unsafe levels of pesticide residue, though Unilever said the product was safe and to standard. Greenpeace said in a statement that in March it randomly purchased …
It represents a serious threat to agriculture because bees are pollination agents for the majority of crops. WORLDWIDE declines in bee colonies, threatening much of global agriculture, may be caused by a new generation of nerve-agent pesticides, two new scientific studies strongly suggest. The findings place a massive question mark …
Data on insecticide use for vector control are essential for guiding pesticide management systems on judicious and appropriate use, resistance management, and reduction of risks to human health and the environment. The researchers studied the global use and trends of insecticide use for control of vector-borne diseases for the period …
Scientists, environmentalists and farm advocates are pressing the question about whether rewards of the trend toward using more and more crop chemicals are worth the risks, as the agricultural industry strives to ramp up production to feed the world's growing population. The debate has heated up in the last several …
Aedes aegypti dispersion is the major reason for the increase in dengue transmission in South America. In Brazil, control of this mosquito strongly relies on the use of pyrethroids and organophosphates against adults and larvae, respectively. In consequence, many Ae. aegypti field populations are resistant to these compounds. Resistance has …
This note has reference to the correspondence: ‘Bt cotton: refuge in mixed bag’ by Muralimohan and Srinivasa. In fact, their article itself was in response to an earlier correspondence entitled ‘Bt resistance in Helicoverpa species: Indian policy needs urgent revision’ by Hanur, in which the author has advocated ‘refuge in …
IMPHAL: The Loktak Development Authority(LDA) has warned the people against consumption of fish which is being caught using insecticides in general and Hildan in particular. A spokesperson of the PDA, T Ibobi in a statement said that an official team has established that the fishermen have been using these poisons …
Differences between individual human houses can confound results of studies aimed at evaluating indoor vector control interventions such as insecticide treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual insecticide spraying (IRS). Specially designed and standardised experimental huts have historically provided a solution to this challenge, with an added advantage that they can …
HATHRAS (UP): At least 17 peacocks were found dead near Kheria village here, officials said. The peacocks, which died allegedly after consuming insecticides used by farmers, were found near agricultural fields. A case will be registered under the Wildlife Protection Act (under Section 9 and 51), they said. Forest officials …
Insects are the pre-eminent form of metazoan life on land, with as many as 1018 individuals alive at any one instant and over three-quarters of a million species described. Although it is estimated that there are as many as 14,000 species that are blood feeders, only three to 400 species …
SAMBALPUR: Even as the cause of death of saplings in Hirakud Command Area is being debated, former MP of Sambalpur, Bhabani Hota said extreme pollution levels in water and toxicity could be a reason. Hota told medipersons on Thursday that according to a study of Sambalpur University in the 90’s, …
Populations of honey bees and other pollinators have declined worldwide in recent years. A variety of stressors have been implicated as potential causes, including agricultural pesticides. Neonicotinoid insecticides, which are widely used and highly toxic to honey bees, have been found in previous analyses of honey bee pollen and comb …
To disseminate Insecticide Resistance Management (IRM) strategies, 10 villages were adopted in Muktsar district of Punjab during 2008 and 2009. Two villages were kept as check (Non-IRM) for comparing the impact of IRM strategies on the major insect pests and natural enemies in Bt cotton arthropod fauna.
Jalpaiguri, Dec. 27: The Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute has confirmed that presence of abnormally high rate of endosulfan in the Karala had killed thousands of fish belonging to 33 species on November 28. The finding was mentioned in a 26-page report sent by the Calcutta-based institute to the assistant …
