Dave Green said:

>> Boll Weevils Nearly Eliminated in Cotton Belt
>>
>> http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20020112/sc/markets_cotton_insects_dc_1.html
>> Saturday January 12 10:06 AM ET

> Please note that Paul Cherubini is not speaking as a beekeeper. He is an
> enthusiastic pesticide salesman. You can run a search of his past posts for
> more info. Need I say more?

Yes, you need to apologize to Mr. Cherubini and the list for tarring him with a
brushfull of argumentum ad hominem.

I don't care if the fellow was a henchman of Generalissimo Francisco Franco,
he has every right to point to one of the BEST examples of an IPM program
that included exactly the sort of coordination and processes required to "win".

I'll say it again - IPM is a very good thing, no matter if you are using voodoo dolls
or tactical nuclear warheads as your "treatment".  IPM encourages a range of
treatments, and does not focus on any one "solution", since it admits that there
is no single solution.

The most recent VA State beekeepers meeting included a video on the Boll Weevil
IPM approach used by cotton growers at their last meeting.  It was a video that
focused on processes, not pesticides.  The goal was detection, not decimation.

If beekeepers got even half as organized as the cotton growers, it would be a miracle.

Beekeepers should seek out cotton growers, and ask what they learned from their
experience.  Any decent IPM program REDUCES pesticide use, so please give
Mr. Cherubini a break - he is surely seeing less commissions from sales of
pesticides to cotton growers as a result of IPM, not more.


        jim  (often a pest in his own right)