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GRAPE GRO WING pheromones for control of vineyard insect pests are vine mealybug, European grape- vine moth and omnivorous leafroller. Arthropods are small creatures, so they have a very high surface-to-volume ratio, making them prone to rapid desiccation. To prevent this from happening they evolved a waxy cuticle that helps keep their body moisture from escaping. Fatty acids and soaps kill arthropods by dissolving the cu- ticle on the outside of their bodies, causing them to lose moisture and desiccate. Since all arthropods depend on this cuticle to pre- vent desiccation, biopesticides that are fatty acids or soaps are broad spectrum, killing both pests and many non-target arthro- pods. One would therefore expect these biopesticides to be very disruptive, but they are not because they have very short resid- ual activity, meaning they are only effective for a short time. Examples of this type of biopesticides are Kaligreen and M-pede. Another relatively new group of natu- rally derived biochemicals is called SARs, which stands for systemic acquired resis- tance. When sprayed on a plant, SARs will stimulate it to produce biochemicals that reduce its susceptibility to pests, sort of like FAMILY WINEMAKERS of CALIFORNIA presents its creating an immune response. An example of this group is the fungicide Regalia. Not toxic to the pest? One characteristic that a biochemical ac- tive ingredient must possess in order to be registered as a biopesticide is that it can- not be directly toxic to the pest. I am sure this statement got your attention. How can something be a pesticide and not be toxic to the pest? The previous three paragraphs described active ingredients that all have the capability of controlling pests without being directly toxic to the pest. There are some pesticide-active ingredients derived from natural products but have been al- tered and are directly toxic to the pest so they are not biopesticides. Some examples are Avermectin (e.g. Agri-Mek), Pyrethrins (e.g. Pyrenone), Spinosad (e.g. Success), In- sect Growth Regulators (e.g. Confirm) and Azoxystrobin (e.g. Abound). SUNDAY, AUGUST 21 2-6 Trade Only Festival Pavilion Fort Mason Center San Francisco 325+WINERIES Most comprehensive tasting of California wines. Showcase for small, family-owned wineries. NEW! Take-Away Wine Sales No charge to pre-registered trade. Visit www.familywinemakers.org for information, ticket sales, and trade registration form. Contact us at: tasting@familywinemakers.org (415) 705-0646 ® ® 1-3 Trade Only; 3-6 Public MONDAY, AUGUST 22 Many biopesticides are compatible with conventional pesticides and can be tank mixed. The $43 billion global conventional ag- richemical market is mature, meaning it does not change much from year to year. Herbicides are about 44% of the market, insecticides are about 23%, and most of the rest are fungicides. The number of new, conventional active ingredients being launched and the number of new leads for modes of action are declining. The biope- sticides market is currently valued at $2 billion, but it is growing more than 50% per year. Some of the reasons for this rapid growth are: They leave no problematic chemical residues on the crop; re-entry time after a spray is 24 hours or less; they have very little environmental impact; most are registered for use in organic pro- duction; often their modes of action are as such that development of resistance is not as likely as with conventional pesticides, and getting an active ingredient to market costs in the neighborhood of $3 million to $5 million compared to $250 million for a conventional pesticide. In some circles biopesticides are thought of as being not very efficacious, sort of a pesticide "light." There are several possible reasons for this view. First, in some cases they have been used improperly and there- 62 Wines & Vines JULY 2011 WINES & VINES 4.75" x 7.5" (1/2 island color)