Then they must be labeled according to law, each label coming with caveats and specific directions for use to prevent environmental contamination and human illness. Each label will be a legal document that must be adhered to by the user. Front-line regulators, used to dealing with pesticides packaged in bottles, bags and test tubes, will find interesting challenges as these products enter mainstream agriculture. A predatory virus. Scientists have been given permission to field test a virus engineered to express the insect control properties of a scorpion.
Tests are against the tobacco bud worm and cabbage looper on cotton, tomato, and leafy vegetables.
A Mighty Mite. The USDA has granted a permit for testing a transgenic predatory mite to control the spider mite in a variety of crops. Scientists at Rutgers University were given permission to test a genetically engineered nematode for insect control. This nematode is designed to withstand heat shock and higher temperatures than its naturally occurring relative. Ethylene gas is a ripening agent that can also spoil fruit over time.