Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 61 views

    Problems in Eggplant Production: Guenee) - FSB Could Ruin Up To 90

    Uploaded by

    Jonelou Cusipag
    1) Eggplant is an important crop for small farmers in the Philippines, but production is hampered by the destructive fruit and shoot borer pest, which can ruin up to 90% of output. 2) To control this pest, farmers currently rely heavily on insecticide sprays, applying an average of 42 times per crop at high cost and environmental risk. 3) Scientists have developed a genetically engineered Bt eggplant that resists the fruit and shoot borer pest, allowing farmers to significantly reduce insecticide use and increase profits while benefiting the environment and consumer health.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Problems in Eggplant Production: Guenee) - FSB Could Ruin Up To 90

    Uploaded by

    Jonelou Cusipag
    61 views2 pages
    1) Eggplant is an important crop for small farmers in the Philippines, but production is hampered by the destructive fruit and shoot borer pest, which can ruin up to 90% of output. 2) To control this pest, farmers currently rely heavily on insecticide sprays, applying an average of 42 times per crop at high cost and environmental risk. 3) Scientists have developed a genetically engineered Bt eggplant that resists the fruit and shoot borer pest, allowing farmers to significantly reduce insecticide use and increase profits while benefiting the environment and consumer health.

    Original Description:

    biotech (SLA)

    Original Title

    4 (Biotech SLA)

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    1) Eggplant is an important crop for small farmers in the Philippines, but production is hampered by the destructive fruit and shoot borer pest, which can ruin up to 90% of output. 2) To control this pest, farmers currently rely heavily on insecticide sprays, applying an average of 42 times per crop at high cost and environmental risk. 3) Scientists have developed a genetically engineered Bt eggplant that resists the fruit and shoot borer pest, allowing farmers to significantly reduce insecticide use and increase profits while benefiting the environment and consumer health.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    61 views2 pages

    Problems in Eggplant Production: Guenee) - FSB Could Ruin Up To 90

    Uploaded by

    Jonelou Cusipag
    1) Eggplant is an important crop for small farmers in the Philippines, but production is hampered by the destructive fruit and shoot borer pest, which can ruin up to 90% of output. 2) To control this pest, farmers currently rely heavily on insecticide sprays, applying an average of 42 times per crop at high cost and environmental risk. 3) Scientists have developed a genetically engineered Bt eggplant that resists the fruit and shoot borer pest, allowing farmers to significantly reduce insecticide use and increase profits while benefiting the environment and consumer health.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    EASY to spot in Filipino backyard heavy use of insecticide sprays, which biotech eggplants in India, Bangladesh

    gardens is the typically elongated are effective only against newly- and the Philippines.
    eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), the hatched FSB caterpillars that have not
    only purple among a sea of greens. yet tunneled into the plant. In the Philippines, Bt eggplant
    This vegetable, locally known as technology has been made available
    talong, is essential to dishes like The problem with this is improper use by Mahyco to the University of the
    pinakbet, torta, sinigang, ensalada and and abuse of such pesticides. Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), royalty-
    kare-kare. free, through a sublicense agreement.
    According to a study entitled “Value of This agreement allows UPLB to develop
    Not a lowly crop by any means, it is a Environmental Benefits of Bt eggplant and commercialize varieties and
    good source of vitamins, minerals and in the Philippines” by Dr. Francisco, Mr. hybrids containing Bt technology.
    fibers, as well as an important Jason Maupin and Dr. George Norton in
    agricultural commodity in the country. 2009, farmers spray about 42 times Currently, several promising FSB-
    per production period (others even resistant eggplant lines are being fully
    Eggplant farming involves 30,243 spray as frequently as 80 times, or evaluated for safety and performance
    small-resource farmers, with average every other day), using approximately under multi-location trials across the
    holdings of 0.7 hectare (ha). It is the more than 65 liters of chemicals per country.
    dominant vegetable in terms of areas hectare.
    cultivated and output. The Department of Agriculture (DA),
    In three of the top eggplant-producing Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), the
    In 2011, Bureau of Agricultural provinces in Luzon alone, the use of National Committee on Biosafety of
    Statistics (BAS) data showed that the chemical pesticides is prevalent. Based the Philippines (NCBP) and the
    eggplant areas harvested totaled on a presentation by Dr. Cesar Quicoy, Department of Science and Technology
    21,377 hectares, with Pangasinan, Assistant Professor at the College of (DOST) Biosafety Committee, work
    Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Cebu and Quezon Economics and Management, together to impose strict regulatory
    as top producers. The volume was University of the Philippines Los Baños controls on Bt eggplant to ensure that
    207,994 metric tons, valued at P 4.22 (UPLB) on his research titled it is safe to people and the
    billion at current prices. “Productivity and Technical Efficiency environment before it is
    of Eggplant Production in Selected commercialized. An independent body
    PROBLEMS IN EGGPLANT Provinces in the Philippines: Stochastic of assessors called the Scientific and
    PRODUCTION Production Function Approach”, it was Technical Review Panel (STRP),
    Even as a common vegetable, found that all eggplant farmers (100 composed of scientists and experts
    problems still hobble growers, with its percent) in Quezon use chemical from different fields, also ensures the
    yield per hectare ranked as one of the pesticides, while 96 percent use it in biosafety of the product.
    lowest in Asia. Pangasinan and 97 percent in
    Batangas. This Philippine biosafety scheme is
    Eggplants are battered by pests, considered as a model framework by
    diseases and extreme environmental Apart from being dangerous, pesticides many countries.
    conditions. The most damaging pest is are also expensive --its use is a burden
    the fruit and shoot borer (FSB; for farmers. Based on the survey by Dr. In their study about its environmental
    scientific name, Leucinodes orbonalis Francisco’s team, pesticides for FSB benefits, Dr. Francisco’s team found
    Guenee). FSB could ruin up to 90 take up almost 30 percent of the that Bt eggplant reduces not only
    percent of output, wrote Dr. Serge production cost, or about P28,000 per pesticide use, but also risks to human
    Francisco, Chief Science Research hectare per crop¬ping season. and animal health.
    Specialist and Program Leader, Impact
    and Policy Research at the Philippine VEERING AWAY FROM PESTICIDES: They found that Bt eggplant could cut
    Rice Research Institute, in his THE FSB-RESISTANT Bt EGGPLANT by nearly half the amount of pesticide
    economic impact assessment studies application by nearly half of what is
    on Bt eggplant - an upcoming biotech With FSB-resistant eggplant, farmers normally used. The study showed that
    crop in the Philippines. would no longer be worried about the a 48 percent reduction in pesticide use
    pests and the harmful and costly is expected from adopting Bt eggplant.
    FSB is so named because it feeds on chemical pesticides needed to control It would only require 6.2 liters of
    the leaves and shoots during the early it. pesticide per hectare, which is half of
    vegetative stage, and feasts on the what is used for its non-Bt counterpart
    fruit during the fruiting stage. Through modern biotechnology, an (12 li/ha). Moreover, the environmental
    Eggplants riddled with holes because FSB-resistant variety, known as Bt impact quotient (EIQ), or the collective
    of FSB cannot be sold anywhere. eggplant, was developed by the measure of risks related to active
    Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co., Ltd. ingredi¬ents in pesticides, went down
    UNHEALTHY, EXPENSIVE, (Mahyco) in India. By introducing a 19.5 percent for Bt eggplant.
    LABORIOUS PEST CONTROLS gene from the Bacillus thuringiensis
    To rid farms of FSB infestation, farmers (Bt), a non-pathogenic, naturally- Francisco said the environmental
    can use different methods like cultural occurring bacterium found in the soil, benefits brought by reduced pesticide
    control, host plant resistance, and the eggplant was rendered immune to use would save about P2.5 million in
    judicious chemical control to keep FSB. It works in such a way that when health costs and about P6.8 million in
    populations of the natural enemies of an FSB ingests any part of the other envi¬ronment categories
    FSB in the farm. eggplant –fruit, shoot, or leaf, the pest covering farm animals, beneficial
    would die due to the Bt protein. insects and avian species.
    However, removing infested shoots,
    trapping insects and applying nettings The FSB-resistant eggplant lines LESS INFESTATION, MORE YIELD
    prove as too laborious and ineffective developed by Mahyco have been used AND PROFIT
    for farmers. Thus, most farmers rely on as source of the resistance trait of An economic study conducted by Dr.
    Francisco in 2007 drew up Bt
    eggplant’s potential economic benefits
    and effects in the farm and market.

    Owing to the Bt eggplant’s resistance


    from FSB infestation, marketable
    egg¬plant harvests were expected to
    increase by 40 percent. At the same
    time, farmers could save P13,959 from
    their pesticide expenses alone. They
    would then have the option of using
    the savings for other yield-enhancing
    inputs.

    Overall, cultivating Bt eggplant could


    raise farmers’ income by about
    P50,000 per hectare as production cost
    is cut by 16 percent.

    Consumers would also enjoy cheaper


    eggplants with lower insecticide
    residue.

    Bt EGGPLANT ADOPTION: A WIN-


    WIN SITUATION
    Dr. Francisco described the Bt
    egg¬plant’s adoption as a “win-win
    situation” for the environment and
    farmers as it has “few (if any)
    unintended environ¬mental effects,”
    better marketable yield and a lower
    production cost. This makes the Bt
    eggplant a profitable and safer (due to
    reduced pesticide use) alterna¬tive for
    eggplant farmers.

    Being a public sector product, Bt


    eggplant would be advantageous to
    the whole community.
    With their eggplant no longer
    vulner¬able to FSB, people will realize
    the posi¬tive economic, environmental
    and health effects of the biotech
    product.

    You might also like