Scientists create predator to destroy plagues as winds destroy
greenhouses
Scientists in Almería, Spain, have created an environmentally-friendly
superbug to protect salad crops grown under plastic.

In a bid to reduce the use of chemical pesticides, the team from
Almería University has made a genetically-modified ladybird specifically
designed for invernaderos (plastic greenhouses).

?What we have managed to create is a natural enemy for pests that
attack salad crops such as tomatoes and green peppers,? team leader Tomás
Cabello said.
Currently, only a quarter of farmers throughout Almería use natural
methods to protect what they grow in plastic greenhouses.

Many spray their crops with chemicals to kill of plagues such as red
spider mites and a species of white fly that is only found in greenhouses
(Trialeurodes vaporariorium).

The superbug, which is currently being tested in greenhouses around
Almería, has been given the name Nabicontrol. With its supposed voracious
appetite, it is expected to become commercially available later this year.

Around 50,000 hectares of the Almería province is under plastic, as
farmers grow crops such as strawberries, tomatoes and cucumbers year round ?
often for supermarket shelves in the north of Europe.

Meanwhile, strong winds in early March destroyed plastic greenhouses
around the Alpujarra town of Ugijar.

Gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour tore the plastic covering from
the invernaderos to reveal crops of fruit and vegetables inside.

An Olive Press reader said: ?We had a giant wind that swept everything
up ? including plastic from the greenhouses.

?I had to send this picture to you following your plastic bag campaign
as these farmers are not renowned for picking up after themselves.?

As reported in a prevous issue, toxic residue from invernaderos is
often not disposed of correctly and is sometimes burned in dry riverbeds or
dumped into the sea.


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