Science and Technology - Briefs

ECOLOGY Saviour pest European green crab is one of most hated invasive species. But it has helped save critically damaged Cape Cod marshes in the US by driving down the population of purple marsh crab, a native species that has multiplied out of control.

Sleeping with enemy

BED BUGS seem unthreatening at their 5mm length, but the harm they inflict is by no means small. Placed above cockroaches and termites as the most difficult pest to exterminate, in a survey by the National Pest Management Association in the US, the blood-sucking insect can cause severe skin rashes, allergies and even psychological trauma.

Letters - March 31, 2013

Bigger is better

The Smithsonian steps on the ants

Sometimes, the nicest of people do pretty unpleasant things. So uncharacteristic at times that you are forever left wondering why.

Stubborn nematodes

NEMATODES are one of the most difficult garden pests to control. These roundworms feed on plant roots and restrict the plant’s ability to absorb water and nutrients. They also cause various diseases in humans and animals. Usually, avermectin produced by Streptomyces avermitilis, a soil bacterium, is used as a pesticide and for treatment of nematodal diseases.

Locust repellents

THE last big outbreak of locusts on farms might have been in 2004 in Africa but there is enough anecdotal evidence to show that there has been an increase in smaller attacks by them in the past decade.

Monsanto pulled up

The Advertising Standards Council of India has upheld complaints against Mahyco-Monsanto’s advertisement for Bollgard II, a Bt cotton variety, in Hindustan Times on August 30, 2011. The complaint was filed by Rachna Arora of non-profit Public Awareness on Genetically Modified Food on the same day.

Who is watching GM crops?

Test tube brinjal

Savvy Soumya Misra And Kirtiman Awasthi India is on the verge of clearing its first genetically modified food crop, Bt brinjal, with several others in the pipeline. Does India need GM crops? Are they safe? How much does the consumer know?

Made it

Savvy Soumya Misra