Cultivating weeds for pest control.Cultivating weeds for pest control pest control n → control m de plagas pest control n → lutte f contre les nuisibles pest control pest n A weed that commonly sprouts between rows of corn in Mexico, lowering crop yields if left unchecked, actually enhances crop quality if allowed to survive at moderate levels, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. research performed in southeastern Mexico. Traditional farmers in Mexico have long permitted Bidens pilosa to coexist with their corn, cutting the weeds back about once a month. Francisco J. Rosado-May and his colleagues at the University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university, one of the ten campuses of the University of California. , sought a scientific rationale for this practice. They found that the weed's roots secrete secrete /se·crete/ (se-kret´) to elaborate and release a secretion. se·crete v. To generate and separate a substance from cells or bodily fluids. compounds lethal to corn-destroying fungi and nematodes. If trimmed 15 days after crop plants emerge, and then every 30 days until harvest, the weeds control these pests without significantly stealing soil nutrients from the corn. In the United States, the team obtained similar results with a corn-associated weed called Brassica brassica Any plant of the large genus Brassica, in the mustard family, containing about 40 Old World species and including the cabbages, mustards, and rapes. B. oleracea has many edible varieties, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and kohlrabi. kaber. "You don't have to plant the weed--it's already there. All you have to do is manage it," Rosado-May says. |
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