Ants run on six swift legs. It overtakes its companions, a line of tentacled insects that roam the winding surfaces of trees, constantly searching for food. While doing so, each unwittingly leaves behind antibiotic microorganisms secreted by the feet.
Tiny footprints, invisible to the naked eye, are incredibly effective at protecting trees from pathogens and pests. In Ida Cecily Jensen’s eyes, ants are an army of unlikely warriors that humans should consider joining in the fight to grow food in a warming world. “Ants are Swiss Army knives,” said Jensen, a biologist at Denmark’s Aarhus University who studies the symbiotic relationship between ants and agriculture. “It’s like a multi-tool for farmers.”
With quote 20 quintillion ants At any given time on Earth, this bug can be found almost everywhere on Earth. They are also one of the species with the most similarities to humans, outnumbering humans by at least 2.5 million to one. ants have extraordinary collective intelligencetheir colonies weave strong community networks and divide labor. Social insects wage war against each other and even create complex agricultural systems.
Ants “have many of the same problems and challenges that we do,” Jensen said. “Fortunately for us, they have already found many great solutions.” One such challenge is that in the face of climate-induced impacts, such as the influx of rampant plant pathogens. It’s a way of growing food. caused by global warming.
Plant diseases cost the global economy hundreds of billions of dollars each year. 20-40 percent of world crop production Loss due to crop diseases and pests. Climate change is Increased risk of infection spread By changing the way pathogens evolve and promoting the emergence of new strains. crops become more susceptible to infection. Most farmers and producers Increasing dependence on chemical pesticides However, widespread use of such substances poses its own problems. Synthetic insecticides are harmful to humans and animalslose their potency as pathogens. increase resistance to them. Manufacture and use of synthetic pesticides contribute to climate changepartly because they come from fossil fuels that cause global warming.
Instead of chemicals, swarms of ants may invade. Although most people think of these tiny insects as nothing more than a nuisance, ant colonies are deployed in orchards in a few countries to prevent devastating infestations and the spread of disease. .
In a series of recently published and upcoming studies, Jensen investigated the antibacterial effect This is a study of two species: the European red ant, which is known for building dome-shaped nests in fields and open forests, and the ear ant, which lives in ball-shaped nests in tropical tree canopies in Asia, Africa, and Australia. Her team investigated how microorganisms influence apple brown rot and apple scab in two Danish orchards, one commercial and one experimental. , found that wood ants effectively reduce brown rot and scab in apples. apple scabcan cause severe yield losses of 61% on average. The scientists also found that the number of disease-free apples more than doubled compared to when ants were not used as an alternative biological insecticide. Another experiment in Senegal collected earring ants from mango orchards to investigate bacterial communities associated with the ants, and found that the ants also left behind a trail of microorganisms that could suppress fungal diseases such as I discovered that there is. mango anthraxthis can lead to significant yield losses.
In past research, Crops from cocoa to citrusAnts can replace insecticides in a variety of climates and locations, reducing the incidence of scab disease on pear trees, coffee leaf rust on coffee bushes, and leaf fungal attacks on oak seedlings. All scissor ant nests are used as alternative pesticides on mango, cashew, and citrus trees. Reduce pest damage and produce equivalent yields Several chemical pesticide treatments have been applied. For more than 1,000 years, this species has been accepted as a natural insecticide in countries such as China, but it never fully penetrated mainstream agriculture in North America or Europe. This method would eventually be replaced by the dawn of synthetic solutions. Yet, despite their heritage, how ants contract the disease remains a scientific mystery.
The answer, Jensen says, lies in how ants work. All species of arthropods have bodies that are inherently hostile to bacteria, as they produce formic acid, which bacteria constantly use to disinfect themselves. Ants are also constantly hungry little creatures that like to feed on things like plant pathogen spores, and their secretion of formic acid and high territoriality mean that they can spread disease and feed some farmers their lunch. tend to deter insect invasion. ‘ crops. As it turns out, their biggest trick is what Jensen’s latest research reveals. Ants also have bacteria and fungi on their bodies and legs that are antibacterial in nature, and these microbes attach to the creatures as they walk, so they can reduce plant disease in affected crops. . If this insect is grown in an orchard, it can march up trees and cover the plants with microorganisms with its legs, suppressing new pathogens.
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Understanding why they have this effect will make it easier to promote and introduce native ants as biological agents in fields and farms. This is advocated by Jensen. Not only is she researching the method as a PhD candidate, but in 2022 Danish farmers will be renting colonies to control plant pathogens and pests, much like beekeepers lease hives. He founded AgroAnt, a leasing company. Her research team is now looking at increasing the population of ant colonies that already live in orchards, rather than introducing new ones. Building rope bridges between trees to give ants better access and increasing the number of sugar extracts left in strategic locations as food for ants could create an ant population boom. Jensen believes this is an easy and inexpensive way for farmers to avoid costly ant infestations. Crop diseases.
Some are not convinced that this is more useful or cost-effective than existing biopesticides such as canola oil or baking soda, or pest management chemicals derived from natural sources.
Kerrick Cox, a plant pathology researcher at Cornell University, said many of the ant-derived microorganisms studied have already been studied and optimized for formulation and effectiveness in agricultural systems. Ta. “Many of them are very effective, and there are many commercially available products that farmers can use,” Cox said, adding, “This study doesn’t find anything better than existing biopesticide tools.” Ta. Registered by [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]”
Jensen acknowledges that there are always risks when introducing any species. For example, new ants entering an area can displace other beneficial species or attract aphids, small green insects that harm green plants with which they have a symbiotic relationship. Still, she asserts that the potential benefits outweigh the pitfalls, as long as the species is native to the region or farming system, introduced and properly managed.
As a practical matter, Ali’s frugality argument as opposed to synthetic products has great appeal. Especially in addition to conventional pesticides, Organic, chemical-free counterpartprices have risen overall in recent years. Europe and us. Prices for these products tend to rise when production is disrupted by extreme weather shocks, and this will become more likely as disasters become more frequent and severe due to climate change.
Conversely, Jensen says, farmers leave food waste, such as sugar solutions, cat food, or chicken bones, in orchards where beneficial ants that fight pathogens are usually already present, such as the leafminer ants in mango orchards. He said that it is enough. If the species already exists there, this may increase its number and efficiency. However, this technique must be done carefully depending on the location to minimize the risk of attraction. Potentially Harmful Members of the Formicidae.
“I don’t believe there’s a one-size-fits-all solution, but I do think ants and other biological control agents are going to be a big part of global warming.” [climate] It will be a puzzle in the future,” she said.
