- Industry: Government
- Number of terms: 41534
- Number of blossaries: 0
- Company Profile:
Living material such as seeds, rootstock, or leaf plant tissue from which new plants can grow.
Industry:Agriculture
The systematic use of plants to treat environmental contamination. It is being investigated as a potential low-cost technology to help meet environmental regulations. For example, it has been discovered that young seedlings of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) grown in aerated water are very effective at removing toxic metals from water.
Industry:Agriculture
An essential nutrient for plants and animals that is commonly applied to crops as a phosphate fertilizer. Phosphorus can contribute to the eutrophication of lakes and other water bodies. Sources of excess phosphorus include sewage and agricultural runoff.
Industry:Agriculture
An expression of the intensity of the basic or acidic condition of a liquid or of soil; the logarithmic scale ranges from 0 to 14, where 0 is the most acid, 7 is neutral, and above 7 is alkaline. Natural waters usually have a pH between 6.5 and 8.5. Plants have differing tolerances for acidity and alkalinity.
Industry:Agriculture
A microbe that has been linked to massive fish kills in Maryland, Delaware and North Carolina. Some scientists believe pfiesteria’s growth is fostered by nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from air pollution, cities, suburbs, sewage plants and farms. Both nitrogen and phosphorus are concentrated in chicken manure, which is spread liberally on farmland as fertilizer in watersheds adjoining the affected rivers. While there is no proven direct connection, the farm community is involved in efforts to identify the causal linkages and remedy the problem.
Industry:Agriculture
Authorized by the FACT Act of 1990, the program requires that private pesticide applicators keep records of the pesticides they use in agricultural production and that the records be surveyed to provide a database on restricted-use pesticides.
Industry:Agriculture
A program initiated in 1991 by the Agricultural Marketing Service to collect pesticide residue data on selected food commodities, primarily fruits and vegetables. PDP data are used by the Environmental Protection Agency to support its dietary risk assessment process and pesticide registration process, by the Food and Drug Administration to refine sampling for enforcement of tolerances, by the Foreign Agricultural Service, to support export of U.S. commodities in a competitive global market, by the Economic Research Service to evaluate pesticide alternatives, and by the public sector to address food safety issues.
Industry:Agriculture
A substance used to kill, control, repel, or mitigate any pest. Insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, herbicides, and germicides are all pesticides. Environmental Protection Agency regulates pesticides under authority of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). In addition, under FIFRA, a substance used as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant is defined as a pesticide and regulated accordingly. All pesticides must be registered and carry a label approved by EPA.
Industry:Agriculture
Inspecting a field for pests, including insects, weeds, and pathogens. Pest scouting is a basic component of integrated pest management programs. It is used to determine whether pest populations are at levels that warrant control intervention and also may help to determine the most appropriate method of control.
Industry:Agriculture
To protect the continued use of biopesticides, the Environmental Protection Agency is requiring companies developing transgenic crops (see genetic engineering) to submit and implement pest resistance management (PRM) plans as a requirement of product registration. If they are exposed to a toxin excessively, most insect populations can develop resistance, making pest control products less effective. With new biopesticide technologies comes the concern that pests will rapidly develop resistance to natural insecticides. A resistance management plan is intended to sustain the useful life of transgenic technology.
Industry:Agriculture
