Oct. 7/ 2004

 Science - Reuters

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian and British scientists have achieved a technical breakthrough to help control insects that have developed resistance to common agricultural pesticides, the New South Wales state government said on Thursday.

 

The new patented technique could give farmers a significant boost in fighting some of the most damaging insect pests to Australian agriculture, said the Minister for Primary Industries, Ian Macdonald in a statement.

"Developed by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Rothamsted Research in the UK, the technique relies on the use of naturally occurring enzyme inhibitors to disarm an insect's defense system," Macdonald said.

"The enzyme inhibitor acts first to shut down an insect's resistance mechanisms. A few hours later, while the bug's defenses are still low, the pesticide kicks in."

Farmers can apply the enzyme inhibitor and the pesticide at the same time and the treatment makes it easier to control insects that would normally fight-off pesticides.

The technique could also help curb the potential overuse of pesticides and cut farm costs.

Insect pests cost New South Wales farmers millions of dollars every year in control and lost production. The research would go a long way in helping cut costs.

"This new approach has been extremely effective in trials on some of the nastier insects. Trials in NSW and Queensland achieved almost 100 percent mortality in cotton bollworm and silverleaf whitefly," Macdonald said.

Spanish researchers working with the NSW Department of Primary Industries and the Rothamsted team found similar results with highly resistant white flies.

The technique has been patented, and Italian company Endura SpA wa working on a commercial release for the technology, which could be available for use against cotton pests internationally, said Macdonald.

No date was set for its commercial release, a spokeswoman for Macdonald said.