Craig Heal
Wed, Jun-26-02, 20:56
LONDON (Reuters) - Farmers and gardeners determined to protect
their plants from slugs and snails may not have to look any
further than their morning cup of coffee for an
environmentally friendly pesticide.
The menacing molluscs hate caffeine.
Even very small concentrations can be deadly for the garden
pests, scientists from the US Pacific Basin Agriculture
Research Center in Hilo, Hawaii said on Wednesday.
The stimulant that helps million of people wake up and face
the day becomes a deadly neurotoxin when it is sprayed on the
slimy creatures.
"It has potential as an environmentally acceptable
alternative toxicant for the control of slugs and snails on
food crops," Richard Hollingsworth said in a report in the
science journal Nature.
The scientists at the US Department of Agriculture's research
center were testing the effects of caffeine on other pests in
Hawaii when they discovered that slugs and snails could not
tolerate it.
"We found that large slugs placed on loose soil and sprayed
with a one or two percent solution of caffeine responded with
uncoordinated writhing; the only survivors were the few that
were able to burrow into the soil soon after treatment,"
Hollingsworth added.
The weak solution of caffeine didn't damage the foliage of
palms or orchids and any yellowing of leaves could be
avoided by mixing caffeine with an appropriate agricultural
polymer, he added.
their plants from slugs and snails may not have to look any
further than their morning cup of coffee for an
environmentally friendly pesticide.
The menacing molluscs hate caffeine.
Even very small concentrations can be deadly for the garden
pests, scientists from the US Pacific Basin Agriculture
Research Center in Hilo, Hawaii said on Wednesday.
The stimulant that helps million of people wake up and face
the day becomes a deadly neurotoxin when it is sprayed on the
slimy creatures.
"It has potential as an environmentally acceptable
alternative toxicant for the control of slugs and snails on
food crops," Richard Hollingsworth said in a report in the
science journal Nature.
The scientists at the US Department of Agriculture's research
center were testing the effects of caffeine on other pests in
Hawaii when they discovered that slugs and snails could not
tolerate it.
"We found that large slugs placed on loose soil and sprayed
with a one or two percent solution of caffeine responded with
uncoordinated writhing; the only survivors were the few that
were able to burrow into the soil soon after treatment,"
Hollingsworth added.
The weak solution of caffeine didn't damage the foliage of
palms or orchids and any yellowing of leaves could be
avoided by mixing caffeine with an appropriate agricultural
polymer, he added.