To produce the food most farmers use chemical pesticides to control weeds, pests and diseases, and to help them meet the appearance standards imposed by supermarkets. Residues from these pesticides may still be in the food when buy it - about half of all fruit and vegetables tested by the Government contain residues.
Researchers are now trying to develop natural weapons to scare off pests by studying the olfactory mechanism of plants that emit odours when attacked by insects
It was the bane of the rubber tree, as the fungus Phytophthora literally ate into its every part. With the discovery of antifungal wood extracts, however, the fungus can be stopped dead in its tracks. The extract also meets today's criterion of eco
Australian researchers have devised a novel method to deal with caterpillars that create havoc in their cotton fields. They have developed a variety of cotton that kills the caterpillars (New
