Will Brazil's Fiery Bees Reach the U.S.?

[newton]

Information from http://www.greengrants.org/2011/11/10/p ... -pakistan/

"According to a 2011 report by the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), as many as 10,000 Pakistani farmers are poisoned annually by use of pesticides just in rural cotton growing areas.

According to their research, wheat and rice are staple crops in Pakistan, but to grow them, an average of 29 million kilograms of pesticides are imported every year, 14 times more than in neighboring India, which started using pesticides around the same time yet currently their exports and production methods are far more lucrative and advanced than in Pakistan.

When they were first introduced, pesticides were given away and then subsidized at an ever-decreasing rate. Finally, the industry was privatized and since, the consumption of pesticides has reached an all-time high.

Their surveys found that high rates of illiteracy among Pakistani farmers exacerbate the problem. Farmers rely on the pesticide producers and retailers to inform them of any dangers and instruct them on proper use. Because of this reliance, they are also often unaware of alternatives to pesticide use.

Many pesticide manufacturers supply the chemicals in "attractive robust" containers which are used domestically for alternative purposes afterwards. Unfortunately, this also means that many families are unaware of the hazards of improper storage or the necessity of wearing protective masks and clothing when spraying and mixing.

Not only do families risk health issues from legal pesticide use, but illegal pesticides are also a problem, and therefore, a threat. Between 1989 and 1993, 22 pesticides were banned by the Pakistani government, but due to lack of resources for enforcement and public awareness, many of those pesticides, including DDT, are still available to purchase in Pakistan. The health consequences of these pesticides are often even more severe."

A little dated but comprehensive well researched article and report outlining the problems in Pakistan if any readers care to obtain further information http://www.sdpi.org/publications/files/ ... uation.pdf

[KBW]

Thanks for a very very important share, Newton sahib.

Pesticide mafia is very strong. As I was mentioning earlier, West has almost stopped using pesticides in their countries, except under extreme conditions and in a very controlled environment. However, we are their laboratory and they encourage us to use these extremely poinsonous chemicals everywhere. I don't know how many of us are aware of details of this pesticide business. Just imagine, 29 million kilograms of this highly poisonous material is injected in our environment every year. No wonder dangerous diseases are on a rapid rise. Please note that some of these poisonous chemicals retain their harmful effect for 50 years or even more.I wonder how many millions will have to die or suffer miserable diseases before we realise how dangerous it is to use pesticides in the manner that we are doing.

Now I see that home gardners have also started using pesticides ruthlessly. I beg you all that for the sake of our children and our future, please do not use them unless absolutely absolutely essential. And that absolute need is certainly not a few plants (no matter how expensive) suffering with aphids, thrips etc. Just to save a few plants, we have started injecting poison in the areas where we live. Please think about it seriously. Just my humble two cents.

regards

[M Farooq]

Lets start a new entry please for pesticides and their harmful effects.
These issues are very relevant for the readers, but it they are buried under the "bees" topic, new readers would never be able to read it.

[KBW]

Agreed. This is a very very important subject and I would even suggest that we have a separte section for Environment where we have all threads related to environmental hazards / protection, ecosystem, nature / wilderness etc in one place.
regards

[mikhurram]

In the pesticide section maybe we can start collecting information for the pesticide used in the Western countries for specifi purpose (like leaf miner, white fly etc). I believe that pesticides available in the West or U.S.A. go through a more vigorous scrutiny system and would contain less harmul effects. Once these pesticides being used there have been identified then the generic name of these pesticides available can be searched and mentioned so that users here in Pakistan would have less hassle in finding these pesticides used in the west.

In addition maybe we can also include a subsection under the Environment section where plants that have become invasive and hazardous for the environment like Water Hyacinth, Eucalyptus, Paper Mulberry trees, Lantana Camara, Kudzu etc can be mentioned. I suspect that Japanese Honeysuckle is also invasive and in the U.S. has been declared a weed. Members aware of any other plants commonly available in our local nurseries posing threat to our environment can start sharing their names in this section which would also include a warning about the threat or danger posed by these plants. The benefit would be that other members having knowledge may start contributing.

[Munir]

I second this noble proposal.

[mikhurram]

Dear Farooq Sahib,

I strongly endorse your idea of posting a specific section of pesticides listing their harmful effects which i believe is a superb idea. Some environment friendly pesticides are available in Pakistan. Just today i bought a pesticide "Shrub & Flower Bug Killer" by Growing Success by William Sinclair UK which basically is a ready to say spray prepared from nature's own rapid-acting insecticide, pyrethrum for control of aphids, black flies, greenflies, caterpillars, and whiteflies.

A homeopathic doctor based in Lahore "Dr Iftikhar Waris" has done some impressive work on creating natural pesticides for crops grown in Pakistan which basically is an effort spanning over two decades. It was your suggestion that triggered me to post about the research pertaining to Natural Pest Control Pesticides by Dr Waris. Fortunately i was able to find the web based link whereby members interested in experimenting natural pesticides can get more information.
http://wspharmacy.com/agri/english_version/

Dr Waris is also a board member/advisor of Punjab Government's pesticide organisation.

I hope the information below proves to be useful to members. Please note that i have yet to try all his pesticides. Some of his pesticides proved be to useful in my trials. So it may not necessary that all of his pesticides may prove to be effective but there's no harm in trying.

Wishing you and rest of the members best of luck in future endeavours as it may be difficult for me to post further messages as i feel that some members do not feel comfortable with some of my posts. Overall i found it an enjoyable interacting with you and rest of the members and we had interesting discussions. Some of the members like Kaleem & Munir Sahib have my contact number and if anyone needs any help/advise or are interesting in acquiring any plants listed in my subsection,i can be reached through them and would be happy to give my plants free of cost. I have fortunate to have met friends with whom i have shared & acquired plants and i believe very strongly in sharing.

Happy Gardening,

regards,
Imran Khurram

[KBW]

Wishing you and rest of the members best of luck in future endeavours as it may be difficult for me to post further messages as i feel that some members do not feel comfortable with some of my posts. Overall i found it an enjoyable interacting with you and rest of the members and we had interesting discussions. Some of the members like Kaleem & Munir Sahib have my contact number and if anyone needs any help/advise or are interesting in acquiring any plants listed in my subsection,i can be reached through them and would be happy to give my plants free of cost. I have fortunate to have met friends with whom i have shared & acquired plants and i believe very strongly in sharing.

Happy Gardening,

regards,
Imran Khurram

Khurram sahib, I request you to reconsider your decision. You are one of the knowledgeable members on the forum and your posts are a source of education for all of us. At least I learn a lot from your posts. Your absence will be a loss to this forum.
regards

[M Farooq]

Dear Farooq Sahib,

I strongly endorse your idea of posting a specific section of pesticides listing their harmful effects which i believe is a superb idea. Some environment friendly pesticides are available in Pakistan. Just today i bought a pesticide "Shrub & Flower Bug Killer" by Growing Success by William Sinclair UK which basically is a ready to say spray prepared from nature's own rapid-acting insecticide, pyrethrum for control of aphids, black flies, greenflies, caterpillars, and whiteflies.

Wishing you and rest of the members best of luck in future endeavours as it may be difficult for me to post further messages as i feel that some members do not feel comfortable with some of my posts. Overall i found it an enjoyable interacting with you and rest of the members and we had interesting discussions.

Thanks for sharing the info - I didn't know that homeopathic "pesticides" also existed in the market, and by reading little bit about them from your link, it turns out they are made of natural materials. It depends on the interest of other readers whether they would like to have section for the environment or not...but many members seem to be interested.

With that being said, I noticed a "resignation" paragraph at the bottom. That is uncalled for because the reason is inadequate. Because some people presumably don't like some of your posts, it makes you decide that you should stop posting forever. One cannot make everybody happy in this world. I am sure you must have read the Aesop fable of a father and a son with a donkey to the market for selling they donkey. They get plenty of suggestions along the way...and eventually by following each and every suggestion given by others, the donkey falls down in the river. The moral was "Please all, and you will please none". And if you are specifically referring to the post suggesting the closure of non-Gardening talk section, I have specifically asked there for the main reason for that suggestion - may be many readers are not interested in non-gardening stories then they might be justified. One can focus on "pure" gardening stories then. Still that does not mean that the person X is "persona non grata". And as you have seen from KBW sb's post, you are certainly a persona grata :-)

[mikhurram]

Thank you Farooq sahib & KBW sahib for the kind words and it certainly feels good to know that I am "Persona Grata". The reason that prompted my decision was NOT the post suggesting the closure of the Non-Gardening Section as every member has the right to express his/her opinion but the subsequent post by another member with the subtle reference or hint that I may have been guilty of miss-using the facility of posting on that particular section (Non Gardening) which I felt were uncalled for. Till date I have contributed with 535 posts of which at-most 7-8 posts which may have been out of context.

In this forum there are at least 15 members including yourselves who done have a fantastic/commendable service of keeping the forum alive by making useful / knowledgeable contributions on a daily basis. My point of view is that if there is an active member contributing to the forum almost on a daily basis and even though may have been guilty of inadvertently posting a few threads in the ‘Non-Gardening Section’ which could have been tolerated. We need to realize that some of us spare time (1-2) out of our daily pressing schedules to post relevant materials only to realize later that we may have been guilty of miss-using

Honestly I feel that the Non-Gardening Section should have specific subsections where members for example interested in posting a greeting can post in under that section. That way others would know which subjects are supposed to be posted.

If I can be helpful to you in any of your future posts or topics, I would be more than happy to contribute. Anyhow I will be accessible through email mimran@yahoo.com.

I came to know about Dr Waris as I had been going to his clinic for a particular illness which could not be cured by modern conventional medical treatment but got cured by taking Homeopathic dose and during the course of my subsequent visits came to know about his research pertaining to pesticide research. I must confess here that prior to visiting his clinic, I always used to skeptical of Homeopathic medicine thinking of them as quacks but changed my view after my successful recuperation.

Even in Germany and Switzerland, Homeopathic medicine is still used in preference and widely available in medical stores. Unfortunately in Pakistan, they are very few skilled practioneers in Pakistan which may be reason for it being discredited.

Still the pesticides being marketed by him need to be tested and tried and may not prove to be effective.

Till date I have yet to encounter an effective natural pesticide for treatment of ‘White Fly’ and ‘Mealy Bugs’. There are two products mentioned on his site specifically for the treatment of the pests mentioned above. So it can be given a try whether these pesticides prove to be successful or not and only trials conducted over a course of time can reveal the particular effectiveness of these products. I noticed that some may have difficulty browsing through the products sections and below is a URL specifically directing towards that section and please note that the first product link “Axiom” does not contain any information. http://wspharmacy.com/agri/english_version/products.htm

I hope that it proves to be relevant to members thinking of using natural pesticides and the comments posted by Newton Sahib in the Knowledge Section about the preservation of environment are very apt for the occasion.

“At first, I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realize I am fighting for humanity.
Chico Mendes, Brazilian Environmentalist ”

Best wishes,