Forum Standing Committee Working Groups

Substitution and Alternatives
Case studies - Examples

Agriculture specific
  • Alternatives for methyl bromide
    PROCEEDINGS OF FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ALTERNATIVES TO METHYL BROMIDE
    Lisbon, Portugal, 27-30 September 2004
    Editors: Tom Batchelor and Flávia Alfarroba
  • Swedish experience of chemical substitution
    In the last ten years, Swedish regulators have demonstrated their commitment to reducing the risks of pesticide use, and have become pioneers in the use of comparative assessment. Their aim is to avoid authorising or using a pesticide of concern for which less risky substitutes are available. Peter Bergkvist of the Swedish Chemicals Inspectorate (KEMI) reports.
  • Alternatives to Persistent Organic Pollutants
    by Dr. Bo Wahlström
    In preparation for the IFCS Expert Meeting on Persistent Organic Pollutants in Manila, The Philippines, in June 1996, the Swedish National Chemicals Inspectorate (KemI) established a project, in co-operation with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, to investigate alternatives to the POPs listed in UNEP Governing Council Decision 18/32.
  • Methyl Bromide Substitution in Agriculture
    Objectives and Activities of the Federal Republic of Germany Concerning the Support to Article 5 Countries of the Montreal Protocol -
    Albert Bell, Jurgen Boye, Otto Muck
  • Environmentally-friendly controls for peach tree pests
    Peach growers combat several insects that harm their crop, usually using chemical pesticides to do so. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in the Southeastern Fruit and Tree Nut Research Laboratory in Byron, Ga., are seeking environmentally friendly alternatives. ARS entomologists David Shapiro-Ilan and Ted Cottrell, along with colleagues at the University of Florida and the University of Georgia, are evaluating two tiny, soil-dwelling nematodes as possible biological controls. They were used to thwart damage caused by the plum curculio weevil (Conotrachelus nenuphar), and two clear-winged moths, the peachtree borer (Synanthedon exitiosa), and the lesser peachtree borer (S. pictipes). Shapiro-Ilan and Cottrell used the Steinernema riobrave nematode to defend against plum curculio larvae-producing a suppression rate of 78 to 100 percent. For the peachtree borer, the researchers used another beneficial nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae. They found that a single field application of S. carpocapsae provided 88 percent suppression when applied to mature peachtree borer infestations in springtime. In a recent field trial, three applications of S. carpocapsae during the peachtree borer's fall egg-laying season completely suppressed all damage. The scientists knew from lab studies that another peach pest, the lesser peachtree borer, is also highly susceptible to S. carpocapsae. But the researchers also realized that controlling the lesser peachtree borer would be more difficult because they attack trees aboveground-where the nematodes dry out and are less effective. To deal with this problem, the researchers applied S. carpocapsae nematodes to tree wounds and then covered the wounds with moisture-holding bandages. In the first trial, 100 percent lesser peachtree borer mortality was attained in five days.