Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
What is BTI
excerpt
The use of coconuts to grow BTI for mosquito control
October 11, 2010,
By Nimal Rajapakse, Ph.D.
Adapted from a Peruvian study report.
A simple biological control technique using coconuts, a fruit that is both cheap and abundant in tropical zones, could be used to control mosquitoes that spread dengue, malaria and other such diseases.
- snip -
A biological control method that uses coconuts to grow the microorganism Bti which kills the mosquito larvae, but does not harm other living things or the environment, is used in South America.
This microorganism Bti is produced commercially in industrialized countries, but its importation is too expensive for poor countries afflicted by the disease.
The process of growing Bti at home is quite simple. A small quantity of Bti is introduced into the coconut through a hole that is then plugged with cotton and sealed with candle wax.
The hard shell of the coconut protects the incubating bacillus, and the sweet coconut water inside contains amino acids and carbohydrates necessary for its reproduction. Studies have shown that on average, a colony of 100 Byi have grown to over 1,000,000 after three days of incubating inside coconuts.
After two or three days of fermentation, the coconuts are taken to the swamps where the mosquitoes live, the plugs are removed and the coconuts are thrown into the stagnant pools of water. Two or three coconuts are enough to cover a typical pond.
Experiments have demonstrated that this quantity kills all the larvae contained in marshy ponds, and keeps working for about 45 days.
read more
excerpt
The use of coconuts to grow BTI for mosquito control
October 11, 2010,
By Nimal Rajapakse, Ph.D.
Adapted from a Peruvian study report.
A simple biological control technique using coconuts, a fruit that is both cheap and abundant in tropical zones, could be used to control mosquitoes that spread dengue, malaria and other such diseases.
- snip -
A biological control method that uses coconuts to grow the microorganism Bti which kills the mosquito larvae, but does not harm other living things or the environment, is used in South America.
This microorganism Bti is produced commercially in industrialized countries, but its importation is too expensive for poor countries afflicted by the disease.
The process of growing Bti at home is quite simple. A small quantity of Bti is introduced into the coconut through a hole that is then plugged with cotton and sealed with candle wax.
The hard shell of the coconut protects the incubating bacillus, and the sweet coconut water inside contains amino acids and carbohydrates necessary for its reproduction. Studies have shown that on average, a colony of 100 Byi have grown to over 1,000,000 after three days of incubating inside coconuts.
After two or three days of fermentation, the coconuts are taken to the swamps where the mosquitoes live, the plugs are removed and the coconuts are thrown into the stagnant pools of water. Two or three coconuts are enough to cover a typical pond.
Experiments have demonstrated that this quantity kills all the larvae contained in marshy ponds, and keeps working for about 45 days.
read more