(Written for the Department of Science and Technology's "writeshop" in celebration of the 2016 National Biotechnology Week. Written last November 23, 2016.)
There are two things that are detrimental to farmers and consumers. One of them is the overuse of pesticides and the other are wasted and inedible crops due to pests.
When Bacillus thurigiensis (Bt) was discovered in 1901, it was further developed to become an alternative to pesticides that farmers currently use.
It resides in the soil and was found to have a natural insecticidal property.
Since the 1950s, it was globally recognized as an effective biological insecticide used as a bacterial suspension spray. It paralyzes the malignant insects that are damaging the crops.
One of the Philippines' most economically important vegetable crop are eggplants.
Farmers' incomes every cropping season amount to P380,000 per hectare. They harvest every two months after planting and can harvest more or less than 4,000 kilos a day.
However, the use of Bt-based insecticides has put an impediment to the agriculture industry.
An insect called the Eggplant Fruit and Shoot Borer (EFSB) infests the insides of eggplants and dig tunnels inside them, making them inedible.
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| Eggplant Fruit and Shoot Borer (photo taken from ICAR-NBAIR) |
It is actually the larvae of a moth called Leucinodes orbonalis that eats the eggplant and destroys it.
Since there is no genetic resistance known against EFSB, farmers had to find ways to control it.
In a fit of rage, farmers use insecticides every other day and dips the eggplants in chemical insecticides before transporting it to the market.
"Currently, farmers spray eggplants almost every two days once they start to grow until harvest time," Dr. Saturnino Halos of the Department of Agriculture said.
"When the eggplant fruit is long enough, it is dipped in a solution of pesticide. This is practiced until a few days before harvest so that very smooth, no-holes eggplant comes to the consumer [and] laced with pesticide residue," she added.
The EFSB can cause up to 70-80% yield loss of crops according to Dr. Lourdes Taylo.
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| Dr. Lourdes Taylo (left) (Photo taken from Google Images) |
In order to resolve this issue, Dr. Taylo lead the Bt. Eggplant projects at the University of the Philippines Los Banos - Institute of Plant Breeding (UPLB-IPB).
Instead of spraying harmful amounts of chemical insecticides on eggplants, they found a way to collaborate the eggplant with the Bt bacteria which in turn causes it to produce proteins that defend it against insect attacks.
With this, there will be less reliance on insecticides and increase crop yield.
Crop yield refers to how many crops a farmer can harvest in his field.
If the crops are not infested by pests, then farmers can deliver more products to the market.
Environmentalists argue however that since Bt is toxic to insects, then it is not suitable for human consumption.
But the stomach of insects and humans differ.
Cooking the eggplant makes the Bt protein a waste product. Moreover, since the human stomach is acidic, the Bt protein will not be activated.
A few questions remain over the Bt talong. How should the product be cooked? Would it be different if it was boiled, steamed, or fried? How about the temperature, the storage, and its lifespan? How does the Bt protein affect the crop aside from defending it against insects?
Hopefully, the Supreme Court gives the research an opportunity to grow more.
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| Greenpeace "decontaminated" Bt talong sites last 2011 (photo taken from Greenpeace) |
Field testings for Bt talong started since 2010 in Pangasinan, Camarines Sur, Davao City, Laguna, and North Cotabato.
The Court of Appeals (CA) issued a Writ of Kalikasan to ban the field testing of Bt talong all over the country on May 2012.
Supreme Court on December 2015 permanently stopped the field testing of the Bt Talong in support of the CA's decision.
It reversed its ruling on July 26, 2016.
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