SCIENTISTS have successfully tested abiological pesticide for the first timeon grasshoppers and locusts whichravage crops across Africa. They havedeveloped sprays containing fungalspores which are as effective as syntheticpesticides and harmless for beneficial insects.
Researchers from Benin, Niger and Britain spent the past seven years testing sprays containing spores of Metarhizium flavoviride, a fungus that infects insects and is native to Africa. They havenow perfected a spray which can be effective in the harsh climatic conditions typical of sub-Saharan Africa.
When it was tested on crops in Nigerthat were infested with the Oedaleus senegalensis grasshopper - the most harmfulinsect pest in the region - its numberfell by 80 per cent within threeweeks. The spray was foundto be equally effective againstthe dreaded desert locustSchistocerca gregaria and twoother locust species. Though thefungal spores take longer to killthe pests, they do not have to beresprayed several times a yearlike a chemical pesticide, as theyremain infectious throughoutthe swarming season and spreadI from insect to insect.