Urea, a fertilizer used for agricultural purposes, will be delivered half the price marketed by private importers to small and medium-sized farmers nationwide, Efe quoted. According to daily newspaper El Comercio, this new purchase of the Venezuelan fertilizer, in addition to 10,000 tons bought last March, will complete the amount of 50,000 tons expected for this year. Thus far, 2,832 requests have been received to buy over 50 percent of the fertilizer that reached last March 25th the port...

Have there been times when you come across someone that seems to be wearing an entire bottle of cologne or perfume and you have the same reaction? Or have you walked into your favorite restaurant that has just reopened after renovation with new carpet and paint and again it hits you? Have there been times when you come across someone that seems to be wearing an entire bottle of cologne or perfume and you have the same reaction? Or have you walked into your favorite restaurant that has just...

In Britain, Lord Taverne QC characterises the trends towards consumers buying overpriced organic food as a "monument to irrationality", promoted by advocates whose "principles are founded on a scientific howler" namely that "natural" chemicals are good and synthetic chemicals bad. In Britain, Lord Taverne QC characterises the trends towards consumers buying overpriced organic food as a "monument to irrationality", promoted by advocates whose "principles are founded on a scientific howler"...

pesticide companies over allegations that the firms' products caused agricultural workers in Nicaragua to become sterile. dollars to 13Nicaraguan workers who contended they were sterilized while exposed to a pesticide called DBCP on banana plantations nearly three decades ago, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. The agreement, which Amvac filed late last month, still requires final approval by a Los Angeles judge, said the paper in an article from Chinandega, Nicaragua, quoting...

Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used in excess to boost yields, and harmful antibiotics are widely administered to control disease in seafood and livestock. Even so, shipments from China were rejected at the rate of about 200 per month this year, the largest from any country, compared to about 18 for Thailand, and 35 for Italy, also big exporters to the United States, according to data posted on the FDA's Web site. In recent weeks, scores of cats and dogs in America have died of...

Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used in excess to boost yields while harmful antibiotics are widely administered to control disease in seafood and livestock. SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- The list of Chinese food exports rejected at American ports reads like a chef's nightmare: pesticide-laden pea pods, drug-laced catfish, filthy plums and crawfish contaminated with salmonella. Chinese products are bounced for containing pesticides, antibiotics and other potentially harmful chemicals,...

Because the Vermont name lends value to everything from maple syrup to apples to cheddar cheese, the state's economy is closely linked to agriculture, especially dairy farming. Unfortunately, this rural way of life is declining along with the supporting infrastructure like the local farm machinery dealer and the seed and grain companies. Producing artisan cheese on the farm has allowed many small producers to hold onto the land, diversify their products, or begin farming anew. Vermont's $2...

Nevertheless, Christians is optimistic about the future of natural products for producing better lawns and better crops. If we have a customer who doesn't want to do that, we'll resort to spot treating with a chemical herbicide a few times a year. And endophytic grass seed is enhanced with a beneficial fungus that secretes insect-repelling substances, and costs only slightly more than other seed. Anyone whose blood boils at the sight of a single dandelion will find it hard to switch, as...

As blight can be so potentially damaging and can devastate a crop within days, growers need to use a robust programme of fungicides applied at appropriate spray intervals, starting before the disease is established right through to harvest. It causes damage through destruction of the haulm, adversely reducing yield and quality, and through tuber blight which affects marketable yield, quality and storing ability. The inclusion of the protectant fungicide, Electis (zoxium and mancozeb) in...