Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 9, 1995 TAG: 9506140022
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-18 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT CANNELL
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In your May 23 editorial (``Cockroach caviar?''), you noted, with hope, the benefits of biological controls. You cited ``April, our cockroach-killing wasp.'' I want you to get acquainted with these other insects in the biological-control family. These weevils save tax dollars, thanks to Virginia Tech and the Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Centers around the state, who've worked on ways to use environmentally sound disease-, weed- and insect-control practices to increase food, fiber and fuel production.
Biological control holds the potential for controlling pests without using chemicals. In the years these weevils have decimated thistles, there's no indication of any problems that the weevil might be creating on its own. Prickly plants are gone from pastures so cows can graze safely and nutritiously, and hikers and joggers are more comfortable along roadsides and trails. This biological-control program, developed by university researchers, saves Virginia taxpayers $1.5 million a year in herbicide costs.
Other biological-control programs being studied at Tech:
Virginia's soft red winter wheat, used in crackers and cookies, is a source of income for farmers from export and domestic sales. Virginia wheat growers compete successfully with Mid-Western growers because of efficient production, and disease and insect control. However, a soil-borne disease of wheat caused by a fungus has recently become more common. It can leave large patches of affected wheat fields without grains. Tech researchers are working on the problem from several aspects, including the use of a root-colonizing bacteria as a means to control this disease. Soft red winter wheat is a part of the total production of winter wheat in Virginia, with a value of $39.9 million in 1994, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
A pest called cereal leaf beetle has, in the past few years, gone from being considered a sporadic pest to being the second most important insect pest affecting small grains. It's controlled effectively in the vast Midwest and Plains wheat fields with a series of parasites. Tech researchers, in cooperation with North Carolina State University researchers, are trying to find out why the parasites, a biological-control system, aren't as effective in Virginia. They are seeking better management practices for Virginia producers.
Root and seedling colonizing microorganisms, primarily bacteria, are being studied as a means of controlling certain diseases of alfalfa, soybeans and cotton. Organisms are being developed at Tech that will attach to roots of certain grains and be antagonistic to diseases affecting plants. The microorganisms would continue to develop along with the plant, helping to ensure effective plant production and reducing the need for outside chemicals. One product being tested is an organism that would help Virginia soybeans, a commodity that brought $74 million in cash receipts to Virginia farmers in 1993.
Other projects will come up in the future, and Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will continue to put its knowledge to work to develop environmentally sound ways to help Virginians.
Robert Cannell is director of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station at Virginia Tech.
by CNB