210
Pesticides, Organic Contaminants, and Pathogens in Air
varieties, little or no external chemical insecticide application may be needed.
Other crops (papaya and plums) have been made resistant to viral diseases
by transgenically imparting production of viral coat proteins that stop virus
reproduction (Lindbo and Falk, 2017).
Gene-based technologies, such as RNA interference (RNAi), are underpinning new technologies in pest control (Kupferschmidt, 2021; Zhu, 2013). RNAi
is a natural process that affects the activity of genes. Research has successfully led to artifcial RNAs that target genes in pest insects, slowing growth
or killing them. The development of GMO crops that make RNAi harmful to
their pests is under active exploration. As with most new technologies, there
are safety concerns that RNAi might also harm desirable species.
Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier were awarded the 2020
Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of the CRISPR/Cas9 genome
editing technology (Cross, 2020). Tools have already been developed in crops,
livestock, and medical sciences (sickle cell disease, muscular dystrophy,
COVID-19 diagnostic tests) (Cross, 2020). Plant scientists are using CRISPR
gene editing (Bomgardner, 2017) to make sustainable agriculture crops with
higher precision than possible before and less potential for undesirable side
effects. While these new technologies like gene editing will have a huge
impact in agriculture and in design of new drugs, it is not clear whether they
will be embraced by consumers, at least in the case of food products. Some
environmental organizations have indicated that they will resist introduction
of new crops and farm animals improved by gene modifcation. Even though
new technologies for genetic modifcation of crops offer the promise of safer
and more abundant foods, many consumers and activists are also interested
in preserving the natural qualities of foods, including taste, texture, color, and
growth-related characteristics that infuence availability and market choice.
Seemingly, for every technological advance in developing resistance, the
target pest evolves a strategy for overcoming the protection, as happened so
often with resistance in insect and fungal pests previously controlled with
synthetic pesticides and with antibiotic use in farm animals. This is possible with genetically modifed crops and biopesticides, thus requiring close
monitoring of felds for early signs of resistance, and then applying an alternative pest control strategy from a “tool box approach” which may include
conventional chemical pesticides, biopesticides, cultural methods, and other
approaches to preserve these desirable, new technologies.
12.6 Smart Application Systems
Only a small fraction of applied pesticides reaches the intended pests, but
rather bypass the targets and enter the soil, nontarget vegetation, or are
carried away by wind (Duke, 2017). Agricultural engineers and systems
Pesticides, Organic Contaminants, and Pathogens in Air
varieties, little or no external chemical insecticide application may be needed.
Other crops (papaya and plums) have been made resistant to viral diseases
by transgenically imparting production of viral coat proteins that stop virus
reproduction (Lindbo and Falk, 2017).
Gene-based technologies, such as RNA interference (RNAi), are underpinning new technologies in pest control (Kupferschmidt, 2021; Zhu, 2013). RNAi
is a natural process that affects the activity of genes. Research has successfully led to artifcial RNAs that target genes in pest insects, slowing growth
or killing them. The development of GMO crops that make RNAi harmful to
their pests is under active exploration. As with most new technologies, there
are safety concerns that RNAi might also harm desirable species.
Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier were awarded the 2020
Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of the CRISPR/Cas9 genome
editing technology (Cross, 2020). Tools have already been developed in crops,
livestock, and medical sciences (sickle cell disease, muscular dystrophy,
COVID-19 diagnostic tests) (Cross, 2020). Plant scientists are using CRISPR
gene editing (Bomgardner, 2017) to make sustainable agriculture crops with
higher precision than possible before and less potential for undesirable side
effects. While these new technologies like gene editing will have a huge
impact in agriculture and in design of new drugs, it is not clear whether they
will be embraced by consumers, at least in the case of food products. Some
environmental organizations have indicated that they will resist introduction
of new crops and farm animals improved by gene modifcation. Even though
new technologies for genetic modifcation of crops offer the promise of safer
and more abundant foods, many consumers and activists are also interested
in preserving the natural qualities of foods, including taste, texture, color, and
growth-related characteristics that infuence availability and market choice.
Seemingly, for every technological advance in developing resistance, the
target pest evolves a strategy for overcoming the protection, as happened so
often with resistance in insect and fungal pests previously controlled with
synthetic pesticides and with antibiotic use in farm animals. This is possible with genetically modifed crops and biopesticides, thus requiring close
monitoring of felds for early signs of resistance, and then applying an alternative pest control strategy from a “tool box approach” which may include
conventional chemical pesticides, biopesticides, cultural methods, and other
approaches to preserve these desirable, new technologies.
12.6 Smart Application Systems
Only a small fraction of applied pesticides reaches the intended pests, but
rather bypass the targets and enter the soil, nontarget vegetation, or are
carried away by wind (Duke, 2017). Agricultural engineers and systems