From sals@rain.orgMon Nov 28 14:19:23 1994
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 1994 19:55:29 -0800 (PST)
From: Sal Schettino <sals@rain.org>
To: sust_ag-mg@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: News you all may find of interest

On Sun, 27 Nov 1994, Mail Delivery Subsystem wrote:

>    ----- Transcript of session follows -----
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> Recei> Subject: news_10_29_to_11_04+28
> 
> 
>              INDESTRUCTIBLE MICROBE PROTECTS CROPS AGAINST DISEASE
>                                        
>    
>      _________________________________________________________________
>    
>    By Paul Raeburn of The Associated Press Madison, Wisconsin, Oct 31 AP
>    - A nearly indestructible microbe found in the roots of alfalfa plants
>    protects alfalfa, soybeans and vegetables against diseases, offering a
>    non-toxic alternative to pesticides, a researcher reported today.
>    
>    The microbe also produces an antibiotic that is being explored as a
>    weapon against human disease, said Jo Handelsman, a molecular
>    biologist at the University of Wisconsin.
>    
>    Handelsman said at a meeting here of science writers that spores of
>    the microbe can be dried out or boiled and they still survive for
>    years. That stability makes them ideal for commercial use, she said.
>    
>    Scientists are trying to fight plant diseases by such biological means
>    because of the hazards of pesticides. The US Environmental Protection
>    Agency is restricting pesticide use and has encouraged researchers to
>    devise safer methods.
>    
>    Unlike many pesticides, biological controls can often be targeted to
>    specific plants and diseases, meaning they are less likely to be
>    hazardous to animals or humans.
>    
>    More than half of the potential crop yield worldwide is lost to pests
>    and diseases, Handelsman said.
>    
>    Handelsman's new microbe, designated Bacillus cereus UW85, suppressed
>    root diseases in alfalfa, soybeans, tomatoes, onions and cucumbers and
>    offered some protection for corn, she said.
>    
>    The root diseases are caused by other soil microbes in the same class
>    as the one that caused the Irish potato famine in the 19th century,
>    Handelsman said.
>    
>    When the bacteria were applied to the outside of cucumbers, the
>    cucumbers were protected against something called cottony leak
>    disease, which can quickly destroy stored cucumbers, Handelsman said.
>    
>    Handelsman said her microbe might exert its effect in plants partly by
>    camouflaging roots so that other disease organisms can't find them to
>    attack.
>    
>    The bacteria's effectiveness might be partly due to its production of
>    three natural antibiotics. One of those, called zwittermicin A, is
>    unlike any other known antibiotic.
>    
>    Preliminary evidence suggests it might kill the bacteria responsible
>    for some human diseases, Handelsman said. Further studies are under
>    way to confirm that.
>    
>    Jack Lewis, a soil scientist at the US Agriculture Department's
>    Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland, said, ``There
>    is a lot of promise in biocontrol'' of the type that Handelsman is
>    developing.
>    
>    He said several labs, including his, are doing similar research,
>    marking the first time that biological control has been used against
>    plant diseases.
>    
>    ``Most of the work with biocontrol is now directed against insects,''
>    he said.
>    
>    The EPA has already approved several microbes for use against plant
>    diseases. One is a substance called GlioGard, made from a fungus that
>    protects horticultural plants against two important root diseases,
>    Lewis said.
>    
>    AP reg 01/11/94 12-43NZ
>      _________________________________________________________________
>    
>     For further information, click here.
> 

Sal Schettino,Organic Farmer,don't panic eat organic,sals@rain.org
or check out my homepage:            http://www.rain.org/~sals/my.html