I fully agree with you Mark. I understand what Elaine has said about folia=
r spray, not it flower. I do remember her talking about the use of Beauvar=
ia on fire ants and such. Agreed, on all statements.
I'm really trying to wrap my brain around re-establishing the healthy ecosy=
stems out here in Colorado, and my long term goal is working with the pine =
beetle epidemic. There is definitely not enough research out there, really=
... to support any kind of mitigation with these little beetles. I'm all f=
or the organic movement. Maybe the best thing we can do is just to let nat=
ure run it's course. But there's so many forests damaged with this, result=
ing in CO2 rising, forest fires, etc. This is where I'm going. I may not b=
e the microbiologist, qualified enough to do the research. But it's an ide=
a... and if I can help push this issue to a more sustainable route... than =
I will. So... let me know if you've got any other ideas. Hope your class =
was awesome, and you learned much and re-inforced much. Until next time...
Manik
Rooted Cultures, LLC
--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, MT <mtrease_at_...> wrote:
>
> indeed -- and that's the problem - there aren't any real studies. =
>
>
> I've just returned from a week-long session with elaine, and have done so=
me looking around -- i can find only one study on the impact of beauveria o=
n ground-nesting bees, and it ain't good:
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Parasitic=
fungi.php
>
> During the session, Elaine was asked about this directly, and she stated =
(on tape) that spraying beauveria was fine, as long as it was on foliage an=
d not when plants are in flower. Also, that adding it to compost, and=
spreading that compost was also fine "as long as its because of an infesta=
tion of some sort". She did not discuss the issue of the impact on gr=
ound-nesting beneficials, or of beneficials on the foliage who are assured =
to be the recipients of the spray or spread. She stated that you coul=
d "put back the biology" afterwards.
>
>
> I've gone back and listened to the tape to be sure -- and must heartily d=
isagree with this particular recommendation with respect to pollinators and=
beneficial destructors (like native bees and wasps). There is no tea=
that can restore your nests of native bees, and no study to show how many =
decades it takes to restore their populations. That advice was specul=
ation, I submit, not research.
>
>
> A side note: sometimes the term "biological control" is used as a s=
ynonym for "safe", or organic, or somesuch. This is only sometimes th=
e case -- agent orange was a "biologic". Beauveria is a *pestic=
ide*, with a full title of a "biologic pesticide":
http://en.wikipedi=
a.org/wiki/Beauveria .
>
>
> This could be a bit of semantics, but i'd rather see a *safe* pine beetle=
control, not merely a biologic control - they can be the same thing, but a=
ren't necessarily.
>
>
> mark
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: cpp_rj <cpp_rj_at_...>
> To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 8:20 AM
> Subject: [compost_tea] Re: Cordyceps or beuvaria?
>
>
>
>
>
> I understand the application of these biological controls are very tricky=
. I've spoken with Elaine on this, and her recommendations are to use a ve=
ry little for the compost/compost tea. Within the trickiness of this, i'm =
reluctant to utilize either of these strains in any application. But do fe=
el they can be used responsibly. From all the research that I have done, co=
mpiling information, I can rest assured that there are Cordyceps that are h=
ost selective, not so much with Beuvaria... I'm still unclear about this. =
The long ranch goal is to find some kind of biological control to help with=
the massive pine beetle issue in the Rocky Mountains, Cordyceps seems like=
it may be the best way to go, rather than using pyrethrum or other more co=
nventional ways. I'm just looking for ideas, but thank you for your reply.=
Again... utilizing the species, has never been done (by me, or anyone tha=
t I know) because I know the massive ramifications they could have on
> the entire food web.
>
> Manik
> Rooted Cultures, LLC
>
> --- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "mtrease" <mtrease_at_> wrote:
> >
> > I'm new around here, but: browsing through the archives i see this has=
come up a number of times, you'll likely find some answers there.
> >
> > As a beekeeper, i'm *stunned* to arrive here and find that some people =
may be inoculating their compost with a pesticide (biologic or no).
> >
> > over 200 species of indigenous american ground-nesting bees, plus benef=
icial destructors like yellow jackets and wasps (yes, they have a use also)=
living in the ground.... receiving the drip from a foliar spray of beauve=
ria, or worse - having an inch of pesticide-laced compost applied over thei=
r nests in the orchard... hmmm.
> >
> > My approach would be "show me the data" in how quickly they can recover=
their population post exposure. I strongly suspect the answer is measured=
in years or decades.
> >
> > mark
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "cpp_rj" <cpp_rj_at_> wrote:
> > >
> > > Has anyone had success utilizing any Cordyceps strains or Beauvaria a=
s an inoculate for compost tea?
> > >
> > > Manik
> > > Rooted Cultures, LLC
> > >
> >
>
Received on Fri Jul 22 2011 - 13:16:53 EDT