At 12:00 AM 6/4/2007, you wrote:
>I have also been told. ( may or not be true) that
>when pesticide treated seed is used the pesticide can stay in the ground and
>even non pesticide treated seed the next year will pick up the systemic
>pesticide. Does the list know if this is true?
Hi Bob,
Like so much else in agriculture and beekeeping, it depends. Some of
the things it depends on are the half-life of the pesticide in
question, the relative amounts of sand, silt, clay and organic matter
in the soil, the amount of microbial life in the soil (usually
comparatively sparse in conventionally-cropped fields), soil pH, the
amount of precipitation during the year, temperature, plant uptake,
and even the type and frequency of tillage.
That said, while there has been research done on persistence of
certain pesticides in the soil, there has been little follow up done,
to my knowledge (admittedly, I don't keep up on it the way I used to)
on the degradates and metabolites of those pesticides, which can be
even more toxic, and more persistent, than the original pesticide.
There has also been little research done on the combined effects of
various pesticides, not to mention the combined effects of the
various degradates/metabolites.
So if CCD is related to chemical effects from treatment of cropped
plants, we will, I suspect, need a well-funded, multi-disciplinary
Sherlock Holmes to find it.
That said, I live uphill from a commercial, conventionally-cropped
apple orchard here in Western NC. My farmer neighbor is sensitive to
my bee's needs, and sprays early or late in the day, and keeps the
clover mowed between the rows. I have 3 hives, two in their fourth
year on large cell, one of which is a split that is in its third year
on small cell. All seem healthy, I have NEVER treated any of them. I
did requeen the original two hives the second year with queens from
B. Weaver that they claim are varroa resistant, though they have been
superceded now. I also lost one hive last year -- a package in its
second winter that had to be requeened a month after hiving and never
built up strength, even in the second summer. They starved. They left
me two deeps of beautifully drawn small cell, and I'm going to get a
nuc of New World Carniolans next week from a local beekeeper to replace them.
I'm having fun with bees, and trying to get a little honey, not make
a living, so I see no point in treating. I want to find bees that can
survive without treatment. I think that we have a huge problem in the
world today with use of chemicals we know little or nothing about
when it comes to long-term effects both on humans and the
environment, and putting yet more insecticides into a hive of insects
just doesn't seem right to me -- it must weaken them to some degree,
even if the effects are sub-clinical, and it adds to the overall
problem of environmental toxicity.
I'm reading a book right now called "The Hundred Year Lie" by Randall
Fitzgerald about the issue of manufactured chemicals in the
environment. While it is written by a journalist, not a scientist, it
is well-documented and appalling. I can't say you'll enjoy it, but
it's worth reading.
Regards,
Diotima
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If there is a better solution...find it" Thomas Edison
Virtual Assistance: The better solution for small business.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Diotima Booraem, CPVA
Virtual Executive Assistance
http://www.virtualhelp.biz
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
******************************************************
* Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm *
******************************************************
|
