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Re: spinosad a product of a fungus in organic production?



Hello Douglas and Joe Nessim,
I am grateful for your valuable comments.
I thank Douglas for reminding me that actinomycetes are bacteria and not fungi. Acinomyceters are filamentous spore forming bacteria that tend to hang around a lot with fungi.Actinomycetes make most antibiotics. Years ago when I was a student the actinomycetes were frequently called fungi or undecided but that debate was cleared up a long time ago. Now it is impolite to call actinomycetes fungi.
I understand that the spinosad is produced by fermentation and not by chemical synthesis. So long as the insecticide is produced by bacteria it seems artificial do differ it from Bt.

Douglas Hinds wrote:
Hello Joe and other saneters following this thread.

Responding to your reply to Joe Cummins reading whether spinosad is
suitable for use in organic food production:

JN> Yes, spinosad is very effective. A product called Tracer that
JN> contains 480 gr./liter spinosad is used here in Israel against
JN> the larva of a night moth that attacks dates (Batrachedra
JN> amydraula), and replaced previous conventional pesticides (such
JN> as Dursban) that were being used.

That is very good to know. It would also be good to know the name of
the fungi which produces the substance found to have antibiotic
activity (which evidently has been named spinodad), so I checked it
out:

  Spinosad gets its name from the microbe that produces it, a
  soil-dwelling bacterium called Saccharopolyspora spinosa.
  http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/apr00/crop0400.htm

JN> HOWEVER -- this product has NOT been certified for use in
JN> organic agriculture here, and is not on the lists of approved
JN> materials certified by IFOAM.

Not having been approved is one thing and having been rejected is
another and very different matter. Perhaps it hasn't been evaluated
yet. If it WAS evaluated and was rejected, on what grounds was that
decision made?

JN> I've just rechecked their website, and if I'm not mistaken
JN> spinosad does not appear on the list. You can check this at :
JN> http://www.ifoam.org/standard/norms/ibs.pdf

The word "spinosad" doesn't appear on the IFOAM list nor is it
contained anywhere in the file you mention above. That may suggest
that it hasn't been evaluated. (More on this below).

JN>   I believe the reason for not approving the substance has to do with the
JN> technology behind its production, and not because the agent itself is not
JN> natural.Possibly even uses some sort of genetic engineering, but I'm not
JN> certain about that.

You are assuming the spinosad was rejected, then. However, that may
not be the case. We need to know that.

JN> Whether this brand name (Tracer) is equivalent to the products
JN> approved by OMRI is something I don't know. OMRI might also be
JN> less strict than IFOAM. However, since this could possibly have
JN> something to do with your field of expertise, it might benefit
JN> this list if you could find out why spinosad has been approved
JN> by OMRI but not by IFOAM.

1).- The nature and source of the substance would seem to qualify it
     for organic food production, so if in fact it WAS rejected, it
     must have been due to some other reason, such as the one you
     suggested. (A number of Bt strains HAVE been genetically
     modified, for instance - but that wouldn't rule out Bt strains
     that weren't).

2).- No global standards exist for providing organic certification.
     Instead, each country (i.e. the USA or Japan) or commercial
     block (i.e the European Union) has developed it's own standards
     for  allowing a product to be marketed as organic.

     In the case of the USA, the Organic Food Production Act (OFPA)
     of 1990 (but which took effect only last year), mandates the
     need to have organic products certified as such by one of a
     number of organic certification agencies accredited by the
     USDA. Otherwise (with a few minor exceptions), your product can
     not be sold as organic.

     The reverse is also true. If your products have been certified
     as organic by any one of a number of organic certification
     agencies accredited by the USDA, then your product is organic,
     period.

     Where does the IFOAM fit in? It doesn't! In the US organic
     market, IFOAM's standards do not determine what is and isn't
     organic. Furthermore, a number of the organic certification
     agencies accredited by the USDA aren't even members of the
     IFOAM.

     So, obviously, you need to know in which market your products
     will be sold in before you plant, as well as use methods that
     meet the official standards of that particular market, and use
     an organic certification agency accredited by the organism
     responsible for overseeing that market.

     For someone who ships to various markets, each with similar yet
     slightly different standards, it may be wise to choose a method
     capable of being certified in any and all of them (such as the
     one I suggest below).

3).- Being able insure the presence of the fungi itself in the soil
     and on the plant would seem to me to be a preferable solution,
     with inoculated compost and compost tea providing the same (or
     perhaps better) results with less cost, along with an added
     degree of prevention. Furthermore (unless compost tea is not
     permitted), you're much more likely to satisfy the
     certification requirements of all major organic markets.

  
From: joe cummins <jcummins@UWO.CA>
To: SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU
Subject: [SANET-MG] spinosad a product of a fungus in organic production?
Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 13:08:28 -0400

An antibiotic product of  a fungus, Spinosad, is providing effective
insect control. Is this product suitable for  use in organic food
production? I do not know the answer and look forward to opinion from
organic gardeners.
      

  
jc
      

Douglas Hinds
Centro para el Desarrollo Comunitario y Rural (CeDeCoR), A.C.
(Center for Community and Rural Development, a non-profit organization),

Coordinador Nacional para Producción Organica,
Confederacion Nacional de Propietarios Rurales

Dir. Gral de Proyectos Especiales,
Consejo Suprema Nacional Indigena

All in Mexico

Also: Chair of the Working Group on Organic Pineapple of the
International Society for Horticultural Science and Consultant for
the FAO group formed to draft a Technical Manual on Organic
Pineapple Production

--

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