
Natural
Compound May Curb Losses Caused by SnailsBy Luis Pons July 25, 2003A compound found in a variant of the
weed mugwort may help Asian rice growers and U.S. catfish farmers stem
snail-related losses. Agricultural Research Service studies
have found that a natural compound, Vulgarone B, is a potent and relatively
inexpensive control agent against golden apple and ram's horn snails. The research, led by chemist Kumudini Meepagala at the ARS
Natural
Products Utilization Research Laboratory in Oxford, Miss., showed that
Vulgarone B is just as effective as--and faster acting than--"Meta,"
a commercial product currently used against golden apple snails. The research on golden apple snails, Pomacea canaliculata, was done
in collaboration with the Philippines Rice Research Institute, based in Nueva
Ecija. These snails devastate rice fields by feeding on the base of paddy
seedlings, as well as on plant leaves and stems. Since being introduced to Taiwan from the Americas during the 1980s, golden
apple snails have caused about $1 billion in crop losses in Indonesia,
Thailand, Cambodia, Hong Kong, southern China, Japan and the Philippines. The ram's horn snail, Planorbella trivolvis, is an intermediate host
for Bolbophorus confusus, a parasitic flatworm that over the past four
years has cost commercial catfish farmers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana,
Alabama and California millions of dollars in losses. The parasite kills
smaller fish and reduces the growth of those that survive infection. According to Meepagala, Vulgarone B--which can be sprayed, placed in
attractant traps or put directly into pond or rice paddy water--is nontoxic to
grass, lettuce and rice plants. It hasn't been tested yet on mammals. The compound is found in the oil of a variety of Artemisia douglasiana,
an easily grown member of the sunflower family. It can be enriched by steam
distillation, a simple and low-cost process. Meepagala got this plant from
horticulturalist George Sturtz of AromaGen, an Oregon-based botanical firm. Vulgarone B has previously shown antifungal activity against plant
pathogenic fungi that cause anthracnose disease in strawberry plants. ARS is the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's chief scientific research agency. U.S. Department of Agriculture |