{"id":29658,"date":"2021-08-13T00:01:15","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T04:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=29658"},"modified":"2021-08-16T06:59:36","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T10:59:36","slug":"biopesticides-with-broad-definition-challenged-as-unsustainable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/08\/biopesticides-with-broad-definition-challenged-as-unsustainable\/","title":{"rendered":"“Biopesticides,” with Broad Definition, Challenged as Unsustainable"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, August 13, 2021)\u00a0Across the pond in the UK, two years of trials with spring and winter wheat varieties have shown, according to the Farmer Scientist Network<\/a> (FSN), which conducted the study as Crop Health North<\/a>, that so-called \u201cbiopesticides,\u201d alone or in combination with conventional pesticides, can be useful in generating yield and grain quality comparable to those obtained through use of conventional \u201ccrop chemistry\u201d (aka, synthetic chemical pesticides). According to Beyond Pesticides Executive Director Jay Feldman, biopesticides are a \u201cmixed bag,\u201d generally poorly understood, and defined differently by various entities and stakeholders. He notes that the term can be misleading and mixes contradictory approaches, adding that, \u201cIt\u2019s troublesome when we continue to look for product replacements or substitutions for agricultural practices that are clearly ineffective, and in the process avoid the changes necessary to transition to organic practices<\/a>,\u201d which represent the real, long-term solution to the problems efforts such as these trials seek to remedy.<\/p>\r\n

The project was sponsored and supported by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society<\/a> (YAS) through the European Innovation Partnership<\/a> (EIP-AGRI). YAS collaborated with universities, farmers, research institutes, agricultural organizations, and technology and food testing centers to conduct trials on three farms in the north of England. The wheat crops were monitored throughout their lifecycles, over the course of three harvests, to identify any diseases, and then manage them via chemicals, biological agents, or some combination of the two. The wheat varieties studied were spring varieties Willow and Mulika (in 2017); winter varieties Skyfall and Leeds (2018); and the winter wheat variety Sundance (in 2019).<\/p>\r\n

The EIP-AGRI website notes<\/a>, \u201cThe crops were analysed in terms of disease severity, yield and quality, looking specifically at whether the biological agents were as effective as the chemical compounds, and whether the new biological compounds work with existing agricultural practice.\u00a0By using three independent sites, the project was also able to test performance on different soils and in varied climatic conditions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The project investigators cite the need to find alternatives to synthetic chemical pesticides not only because some of those are disappearing from the market, but also, because the concerns about pesticide use \u2014 for human health and environmental integrity \u2014 are real and growing, including among farmers. As asserted by YAS on its website and in a video<\/a> it produced, there is growing worry in the agricultural community about the removal of pesticide products and their active ingredients from the marketplace. There is particular concern among farmers about how to address some fungal diseases that affect wheat; thus, the biopesticides used in the trial were biological alternatives to conventional fungicides. FSN notes that research into viable alternatives is limited and that these wheat trials aimed to address this dearth of information.<\/p>\r\n

In the YAS video, James Standen, Farms Director for Newcastle University Farms, spoke of the importance of looking at \u201cbioprotectant\u201d products for use on wheat crops as farmers \u201close active ingredients, with bans coming in for product safety, [and] the Precautionary Principle, and as resistance builds up to various chemicals.\u201d Tom King, UK Regional Base Manager for Eurofins Agroscience Services<\/a>, added (in the video) that bioprotectant products are most successful in an IPM (Integrated Pest Management) approach.<\/p>\r\n

Essentially, as toxic chemicals are removed from the conventional agricultural toolkit, producers want other substances with which to treat agricultural pests, keeping the whole system in a perpetual \u201cchase\u201d for the next pest \u201cfix,\u201d whether chemical or biological. Apart from the toxicity and other \u201cdownstream\u201d issues related to many synthetic control chemicals is the relentless issue of resistance<\/a> \u2014 which all organisms will develop against harmful substances to which they are chronically exposed.<\/p>\r\n

The study sought to compare the efficacy of biological controls (aka, biopesticides, bioprotectants, biologic products, biologic reagents) on disease resistance with that of conventional synthetic pesticides. But how do the investigating organizations define these products? According to Dr. Roma Gwynn<\/a>, a bioprotectant specialist and director of Rationale<\/a> (an organization of biopesticide strategists), \u201cBioprotectants (including microbial and botanical plant protection products) are substances that have been found in nature or derived from it, so they naturally break down and degrade very easily, and therefore you\u2019re having a much lower impact on the environment and on non-target organisms.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says<\/a>, \u201cBiopesticides are certain types of pesticides derived from such natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. . . . Biopesticides include naturally occurring substances that control pests (biochemical pesticides), microorganisms that control pests (microbial pesticides), and pesticidal substances produced by plants containing added genetic material (plant-incorporated protectants) or PIPs.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Professor Rob Edwards, PhD, Head of Newcastle University\u2019s School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and chair of FSN, writes of the \u201cbiologic products\u201d used in the trials<\/a>, \u201cThe biologic reagents are micro-organisms used to coat seeds before sowing or [to] spray onto the plant. They work, rather like probiotics in human medicine, to strengthen the plant\u2019s natural resistance. These are relatively new to the UK but likely to become widely available over the next few years.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Information on biopesticide active ingredients is available\u00a0in the\u00a0Pesticide Chemical Search<\/a> database. (Enter an ingredient name and look under the Regulatory Actions tab for available information, and\/or use the Filter by Pesticide Type link on the right side of the page to see a list of all biopesticides. From that list, access information about each ingredient.)<\/p>\r\n

Recent research published in the journal plants<\/em><\/a> calls biopesticides \u201cnatural, biologically occurring compounds that are used to control various agricultural pests infesting plants,\u201d but also discusses \u201cbiocontrol agents composed of microorganisms including bacteria, cyanobacteria, and microalgae, plant-based compounds, and recently applied RNAi-based technology.\u201d Those researchers identified multiple categories of biopesticides: microbial pesticides, biochemical pesticides, insect pheromones, plant-based extracts and essential oils, insect growth regulators, and GMO (genetically modified organism) products.<\/p>\r\n

Some of those categories of biopesticides may well be compatible with organic agricultural practices, while others would not because they fail to meet the requirements of the National Organic Program<\/a>, which operates within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA website explains<\/a> that \u201cOrganic producers rely on natural substances and physical, mechanical, or biologically based farming methods.\u201d Beyond Pesticides expects that there will be pressure to incorporate the use of biopesticides into the rules for organic production, and believes that could easily undermine the USDA Certified Organic brand and label<\/a> if a fine-grained evaluation of each kind of biopesticide is not conducted before any such decisions.<\/p>\r\n

Professor Edwards\u2019s claim that the bioprotectants used in the subject trials work, like probiotics in human medicine, to strengthen plants\u2019 natural disease resistance may be true. But this is not the MO of all biopesticides. For example, one category of bioprotectants uses, as noted above, \u201capplied RNAi-based technology\u201d to modify crop plants so they can \u201cneutralize\u201d pests. This is a genetically engineered (GE) technology that uses gene silencing \u2014 GE regulation of gene expression in a cell, as is employed in developing Roundup Ready seeds. This tinkering with gene expression is supposed to impact (lethally) target pests when they ingest the GE plant.<\/p>\r\n

But there are significant, and largely unexplored, downsides to RNAi \u201cbiopesticides\u201d; as researchers have identified<\/a>, an \u201coff-target effect is one of the major limitations associated [with] RNAi technology. Off-target effects are describe[d] as the silencing of non-target genes in the same organism or in non-target organisms.\u201d As other scientists identified in the journal Bio-Science<\/em><\/a>:<\/em> \u201cRNAi pesticide technology . . . produces those small \u2018bits\u2019 of genetic material. . . . [which] often have off-target binding elsewhere in a nontarget species\u2019 genome that makes predicting toxic effects and designing maximum-hazard dose assays challenging for the wide range of species potentially exposed. . . . Knowledge gaps in the genomics and physiologies of highly exposed nontarget organisms currently preclude our ability to assess the activity spectrum of RNAi, determine whether toxicity assays will be sufficient in predicting the risks of RNAi-based crops, and explain how these risks may affect food webs associated with agroecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

In addition, little is known about the persistence of these genetic bits in the environment, nor what their impacts on ecosystems might be. There is something counterintuitive in labeling something a \u201cbio\u201d product (which connotes something \u201cnatural\u201d) when in fact it involves genetic engineering \u2014 an entirely synthetic process.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Nevertheless, many researchers and agricultural organizations are very interested in the development of new, biopesticide substances or technologies that appear to be relatively \u201cquick fixes\u201d to the perceived problems of disappearing synthetic chemical pesticides and resistance to others. The UK entities involved in these wheat trials have indicated that the next step is to take the products that performed well in the study and figure out how to \u201coptimize their use.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Beyond Pesticides and other organic advocates recognize that some bioprotectant products may be ecologically sound and nontoxic; indeed, some fungi appear to hold great promise<\/a>. But the fundamental quest ought not<\/em> be one of seeking an endless stream of \u201csubstitute\u201d products or controls as resistance to conventional pest controls continues to develop. Rather, the central and critical need is making the transition from conventional chemical farming to organic, regenerative agriculture<\/a> \u2014 which involves shifts in both understanding and practices. That transition is the solution to the multiple threats of conventional pesticide use \u2014 harmful human health impacts, biodiversity collapse, the climate emergency, and environmental and ecosystem degradation. Development and adoption of GE and other dubious biopesticides represents functional \u201cdelay and diversion\u201d from that necessary shift in how food is produced. See Beyond Pesticides Organic Agriculture page.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Sources: https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/eip\/agriculture\/en\/news\/inspirational-ideas-crop-health-and-pesticide<\/a> and https:\/\/iapps2010.me\/2021\/08\/03\/uk-biopesticides-protect-wheat\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides, August 13, 2021)\u00a0Across the pond in the UK, two years of trials with spring and winter wheat varieties have shown, according to the Farmer Scientist Network (FSN), which conducted the study as Crop Health North, that so-called \u201cbiopesticides,\u201d alone or in combination with conventional pesticides, can be useful in generating yield and grain quality comparable to those obtained through use of conventional \u201ccrop chemistry\u201d (aka, synthetic chemical pesticides). According to Beyond Pesticides Executive Director Jay Feldman, biopesticides are a \u201cmixed bag,\u201d generally poorly understood, and defined differently by various entities and stakeholders. He notes that the term can be misleading and mixes contradictory approaches, adding that, \u201cIt\u2019s troublesome when we continue to look for product replacements or substitutions for agricultural practices that are clearly ineffective, and in the process avoid the changes necessary to transition to organic practices,\u201d which represent the real, long-term solution to the problems efforts such as these trials seek to remedy. The project was sponsored and supported by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS) through the European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI). YAS collaborated with universities, farmers, research institutes, agricultural organizations, and technology and food testing centers to conduct trials on three farms in the north of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n"Biopesticides," with Broad Definition, Challenged as Unsustainable - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/08\/biopesticides-with-broad-definition-challenged-as-unsustainable\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Biopesticides," with Broad Definition, Challenged as Unsustainable - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Beyond Pesticides, August 13, 2021)\u00a0Across the pond in the UK, two years of trials with spring and winter wheat varieties have shown, according to the Farmer Scientist Network (FSN), which conducted the study as Crop Health North, that so-called \u201cbiopesticides,\u201d alone or in combination with conventional pesticides, can be useful in generating yield and grain quality comparable to those obtained through use of conventional \u201ccrop chemistry\u201d (aka, synthetic chemical pesticides). According to Beyond Pesticides Executive Director Jay Feldman, biopesticides are a \u201cmixed bag,\u201d generally poorly understood, and defined differently by various entities and stakeholders. He notes that the term can be misleading and mixes contradictory approaches, adding that, \u201cIt\u2019s troublesome when we continue to look for product replacements or substitutions for agricultural practices that are clearly ineffective, and in the process avoid the changes necessary to transition to organic practices,\u201d which represent the real, long-term solution to the problems efforts such as these trials seek to remedy. The project was sponsored and supported by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS) through the European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI). 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According to Beyond Pesticides Executive Director Jay Feldman, biopesticides are a \u201cmixed bag,\u201d generally poorly understood, and defined differently by various entities and stakeholders. He notes that the term can be misleading and mixes contradictory approaches, adding that, \u201cIt\u2019s troublesome when we continue to look for product replacements or substitutions for agricultural practices that are clearly ineffective, and in the process avoid the changes necessary to transition to organic practices,\u201d which represent the real, long-term solution to the problems efforts such as these trials seek to remedy. The project was sponsored and supported by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS) through the European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI). 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By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. 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