--- On Wed, 5/15/13, Bob Harrison <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Why take a chance on problems right?
> Not IPM but again why risk a not so perfect crop. 

Does nature follow IPM principles? In other words, do plants that produce
toxic nicotine  make it only if insects start feed on their tissues?
Or do they produce it continually for 24/7 protection?

The reason I think it's extremely unlikely that the neonic seed treatments
are causing problems for bees is because of the extremely tiny doses that
are used per acre of cropland and the fact that the seeds are buried in the
soil.

Example: A 2.5 gallon container of Bayer's Poncho/VOTiVO seed treatment,
contains 40.3% clothianidin.

Only 2.7 fluid ounces of PONCHO is used to treat the 80,000 kernels that
are found in one approx. 50 pound bag of corn seed that will plant 2.2
acres of land in corn.

So that means a soda pop sized can (12 fluid ounces) of PONCHO is enough
to treat a whopping 9.8 acres of corn = the size of SEVEN foot ball fields!

And means 3 quarts of PONCHO is enough to treat 74 acres of land in corn
= the acreage of turf typically found on a 18 hole golf course!

And means a 5 gallons of PONCHO is enough to treat nearly a whole square
mile of land in corn!

I can't imagine how a 5 gallons worth of PONCHO spread out across a square
mile of land and buried in the soil is going to cause serious landscape
scale health problems for any insects other than those that feed on the
leaf tissues of the crop (e.g. grasshpppers, aphids, leaf beetles, etc.)

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

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