NATURAL chemicals derived from plants and micro organisms which are more acceptable to consumers and environmentalists will be increasingly used by Irish farmers to control crop diseases.
The green path to the future was outlined at the recent National Tillage Conference in Carlow organised by Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority. Experts told farmers that stimulating plants to develop their own resistance to disease and pests was now under active research here.
This entails applying a chemical which in itself does not control disease, but it induces disease resistance in a plant or crop, possibly for the life of the plant, by reducing the need for repeated spraying.
Farmers were also told that chemicals derived from natural sources are likely to receive approval more readily from authorities that regulate chemicals used in crop production.
The major international chemical manufacturers have now instituted active research on natural products.
Mr Paddy Browne, Teagasc chief tillage adviser, said that Teagasc was evaluating some of these chemicals to establish their performance.
The ultimate objective is to ensure that farmers have products which control disease efficiently but which will also be more acceptable to the general public.