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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Insects thrive on GM 'pest-killing' crops

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  • From: "Jill Taylor Bussiere" <jdt AT itol.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Insects thrive on GM 'pest-killing' crops
  • Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 08:23:22 -0600

Thanks Bill - yes, it will be good to have more research to fill in.

I don't use Bt anymore, because it is nondiscriminatory. Usually I just
remove the outer wrapper leaves, since I don't grow cabbage to sell, and the
kohlrabi bulbs, which I do grow for market, show damage only on their
leaves, not the bulbs. My question came out of curiousity.

I like the idea of the early trap mustard crop. If I get it together, I
will try that this year:^) Thanks for the idea.

Jill
PS I can hear the sandhill cranes calling as I write. It is truly spring
for us. Snow on the ground, red-winged blackbirds singing, and cranes
calling. Wonderful music!

Bill wrote:
> Lastly, I'd like to suggest that there are other means of control that
> are potentially effective. We had a grad student looking at diamond back
> moth on cabbage several years ago at the Research Center. He was looking
at
> the natural relationships of cabbage, diamond back moth and parasitoid
wasps
> that were native. He found that unsprayed cabbage would initially have
> serious pest levels. But then parasitoid wasps would move in. They would
lay
> eggs in the moth larvae. The larvae would soon quit feeding. The wasp
larvae
> would soon form pupae and emerge as adults later, creating high
populations
> of the wasp. The moths had no chance at that point. This creates an
> opportunity for new strategies, such as planting an early mustard crop to
> serve as a host for the moth and it's larvae. The wasps then have a food
> source to build populations on. as the wasp populations grow, it becomes
> safer to raise the cabbage, broccoli and other high value brassicas. The
> late season cabbage in his study was never sprayed but was relatively
clean.
> Remove a few scarred wrapper leaves and it was clean cabbage. The strategy
> worked for european cabbage worm and cabbage loopers as well.






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