Staudt is one of a growing number of landscapers who have embraced organic lawn care as an alternative to pesticides and other chemicals. He says seminars that once attracted a mere handful are now well-attended as a growing number of landscapers are becoming interested in "green" alternatives to pesticides. Bruce Butterfield, research director for the National Gardening Association, said a 2004 survey showed that 5 percent of American households with a yard or garden exclusively used...

Lu s Eduardo Minchala Guaman, legume breeder for Ecuador s National Institute of Agricultural and Livestock Research (INIAP), looks out over rolling Andean mountainsides in the cold air and blistering equatorial sunlight at some 2,600 meters above sea level. Perhaps the best indicator is this: you never used to see trucks regularly driving out of the valley loaded with produce for the market; now you do. Mexico June 29, 2007 What started with better crop varieties from CIMMYT and other...

They think more is better so they tend to buy the cheapest fertilizer out there. He mixes his own fertilizer for his customers and says it's not an easy science especially if you're not trained. They put it down heavy and they end up with an insect problem, shallow root systems, fungus problems, and no drought resistance whatsoever. And that's why Sarasota county commissioners have put together a draft ordinance to deal with the fertilizer issue. Jack Merriam, the Environmental Manager for...

Bt crop varieties, such as cotton and corn, are modified through introduction of a Bt gene that causes the plants to produce a toxin that protects them from certain pests. Advertisement His concerns grew at a meeting run by the local church's Caritas social-service agency that highlighted the seeds' alleged environmental hazards. He claimed humans could ingest Bt toxin through cottonseed oil, used for cooking, and cited reports of skin inflammation caused by contact with the crop. Sadiq...

Local residents can expect to see more crop-duster this year, says Brown By BRADEN WILLIS, Of The Times Staff Greg Brown, of Brown Feed and Chemical in Carmi, said Wednesday area residents may be seeing more crop-dusting airplanes over the next few days than what they may be used to seeing, and there's good reason for it. Local residents can expect to see more crop-duster this year, says Brown By BRADEN WILLIS, Of The Times Staff Greg Brown, of Brown Feed and Chemical in Carmi, said...

The golf fraternity refutes charges of being major polluters, and another US study concluded in 1999 that the pesticide run-off into local watercourses was "virtually nil" Naturally, this doesn't please eco warriors who allege that the 17,000 golf courses in the US use more pesticides than anyone else, including farmers. This week's question comes from a male reader - alerted by his girlfriend, who thinks his love of golf might be incompatible with his Greenpeace membership. Living in fear...