This week im tomorrow to day dw science program. And on the 2nd thing seen this, somebody in a switch town not saw from zurich, people in protective gaps striding through and then the Garden Spring insecticide. The goal is to wipe out any japanese beetles as fast as possible. The authorities think that a small population estimated it between a 100 and a 1000 insects is established that the 1st time an infestation of these sites has occurred most of the out sofa. And the single beetles have been detected. Officials immediately sounded the alarm and stuffy doing Everything Possible to stump out the pest completely. Because one thing is clear, dont settle up talking to europe, is watching close to understand that. And everyone is keen to see whether we manage to eradicate them. Besides, the situation is not just very important for switzerland, but also internet generally is the beetle isnt stopped here, its long term spread throughout. Europe grows much more likely and that could have drastic consequences. Cyclic culture, that future scenario is already reality in northern italy. For years the japanese beetle has been eating its way through the regions. Vineyards. Mccomb inaji has vineyard, is regularly infested. The winemaker has to pick the beatles of these fines one at a time and never ending task. But to see any way to save at least the cost of his harvest. C, a by side separate or its frustrating, but you just have to do a quarter can use an equation and its much more frustrating when you see them eating up the buying giovanni, both you and a colleague from the countries Agricultural Office are trying to get the japanese veto, under control in the last few years, populations of the past to exploded. And that causing serious damage. That because the spread of the japanese beetle is a huge problem for a range of crops, certainly not the hearts of them arrive and start eating the leaving mice, the damage they caused severe months out to look for you. Think its not really the following a plan, so they forget c o n a. The piano in the early 20th century, the japanese be told was 1st introduced from its native country to the us. Im soon spread to canada in the us to load and it causes several 100000000. 00 in crop damage annually. Then in the early 19 seventys, the insect to make the lead to europe. At 1st need to be as those are due to eventually reached mainland to europe. In 2014, in northern italy, established quickly and multiplied exclusively in 2017. The people also spread to switzerland for a long time, it was found only in the southern count on us to chino, the outs form a natural barrier that prevented further spread until recently, at least when they were also found north of the range. Because the beautiful population of p a small and fi selected those, the experts hope it can be white house. Thats no longer a possibility south of the outs into chino or northern easily. Tim hi is an invasive pests specialist at the copy. An International NonProfit Research and locate the sites there are about 12000000 beetle lobby in the soil and this paul cologne directly. What does this notice . And thats a Huge Population for this tiny area alone. And then of course, it poses a problem for agriculture and the environment here with such Huge Populations eradication is no longer an option. But containment might be in his lab. Tim hi, is that for looking for ways to keep the be to in check. One method involves the parasitic flight, the principle is simple. The fly lays its eggs on the beatles back. Lovely developing them in just 24 hours. The 1st law, but the hatch quickly bows into the body of the beetle and proceeds to devour it from the inside. Then p pates and eventually images as an adult find the following spring. Only one slide develops pub beetle views, but there is still many open questions like whether the fly only powers. The ties is japanese. Beetles. For such as at the anchor Scope Institute have made more progress. They are also looking for effective biological ways to combat the invasive in the special fungus session promise as a weapon. Its being intensively tested under quarantine conditions. The original plan was to inspect the navi, with the fungus. Ive seen here in time lapse footage in the research has tested what happened to lobby the winter in an experimental field. Seated with the fungus. When spring came, they monitored whether it has an impact on the japanese be told population. The fungus can decimate the pests close relatives, ladybugs, and june bugs. But the results with the japanese beetle, but disappointing, or the fungus have little effects on its lobby. Lots of them. Yeah, fun, passive. Unfortunately, japanese based love am much more robust than native diesel. I like maybe bucks and gene bug me say, spell it us. We found fungal schools we used just didnt have the effect we would have, like i said. So for now, the research focuses back on adult insects. Scientists have sprayed leaves with fungal, spose, and put them in containers with beatles. They dont even have to eat. Its simple contact is enough. Fungal, suppose grow in the insect and kids in a few days. B, s for this or dot the tv. Its the 1st results weve seen from the lab or very encourage you to get seen. Thats the key. If we solve it practically 100 percent of the beatles can be killed by these phone guy in just a few days that we have some kind of. So were feeling quite positive on this. Ive seen vague, at least suppose that youve had of course were now looking at how we can build on this success and via how we can get the method out in the field, us and into practice. Thats file and they do fox, its emails. Field trials already underway. It will still take some time. However, before the 1st results are available. Its debatable whether the japanese be to can actually be kept out of Northern Europe forever. Climate change models indicate large parts of the continent could soon offer the conditions it needs to strife. Dinosaurs admitted their fair share of Greenhouse Gases. One theory even holds that that might have contributed to their demise. The animals weve domesticated also produced plenty of gases that are bad for the climate. Livestock finding makes up a significant portion of human induced emissions to change that we would need to cut down on the number of animals we raise for food or possibly make the ones we have less destructive. The researchers in new zealand are interested in the sheep because of their digestive gases. Some will spend an hour today an experimental chambers at the inver Cargo Research farm. The method reveals which animals excel lots of the climate damage and gas me say, and which burnout less of it. Scientist suzanne. Rob explains that 90 percent of Greenhouse Gas emissions come from an animals mouth. Now thats the rear end. So im taking a sample of a break in the volume of the and im using the gauge, how much me so units of a compared to, to contemporaries. And i can use that to run individually because some animals also meant the heat slightly differently. And they give it to the others. So what were looking for those low, low emissions in those low emitters, in bread with one another row has been pursuing the odor intensive program for 11 years after 3 generations for flock now and sales, 13 percent less, methane gas. Then at the start of the experiment, meantime we can make a difference. We can make a difference quickly if we lower the amount of me sitting in the environment. We can very quickly have an impact was if we lower the amount of call from the outside of the volume and were having a massive impact in the long term. The short term impact, we wont see you as much. So its, its a real opportunity for, for the launch stuff industry to make a really about an hour away from the research station is leon blacks farm. Hes a 4th generation chief farmer. Black is one of the 1st to put the scientists principles into practice. He breed cheap and have better brass, 11. But in the process you cant forget. The bottom line is animals still need to produce plenty of meat. And well, the high was always said if you had a more efficient room and then more so that put the units and the things like the home mode will make and that looks for you to tie. So were selecting animals that utilize feed beta dog, put out be fine, and put more into drugs. Its kind of like the when, when such, when, when situations are urgently needed in news events, which is determined to become climate neutral by 2050 to get the government has now investing millions in the development of new technologies for agriculture. Like here at the palmerston north, kansas new wedlock has been working for 15 years on another promising project, a vaccine against me thing gases in animals, one that would work in towels as well as cheap, so heavy work and for quite some that some time. But were making good progress. We started showing that you can vaccinate animals and they can produce anti bodies against them. Advantages and their saliva. Weve done some studies that show they produce enough anti bodies to see it basically, coat all in the silence in the room and but former Prime Minister just send the order and didnt want to wait for a new anti burp injection and decided to take on farmers to achieve climate goals per party wanted methane gas submitted by cows and sheep to drop by up to 47 percent by 2050. To push that agenda. Farmers are supposed to pay an emissions tax starting in 2025 a world 1st. The proposal as it stands means these humans from is a seat to be the 1st in the world to reduce agricultural emissions, positioning, a biggest export market to the competitive advantage that brings in a world increasingly discerning about the provenance of the service. But not everyone is on board with a governments idea. There are been protest. Many farmers fee, or the extra costs will hit the countries agriculture industry to hard hits new zealand main export sector. But the sheep farmer, leon black g 2, is angered by the governments plans and thinks the tax is unfair. Even his clean turbo sheet and it too much to exempt him from it, many sheet farmers would have no choice but to reduce the size of their flocks. And hurts, even though Animal Husbandry in new zealand is already among the most environmentally friendly in the world. I believe theres more gain swing by the way. The 11th is what i know. I think its really unrealistic. For a government decide 40 or 50 the same, its just magic. Very, very disappointed if i like saw its not strange. The news on the experimental farm, the testing is over for the day scientist susanne ro understands the farmers concerns. But she also sees the potential in her super she and she believes that new zealand could become a Global Pioneer in the industry. We dont really know how far we can go. We, we know the in the, in, in these folks were going very quickly. But if we apply that to our normal breathing floor, then were seeing as 12 to 3 percent drilled per year. So were seeing a considerable difference. And what has already works for new zealand sheep is now to be tested in other domesticated species. Next on the list, reading low and meeting cows youd never consume this intentionally, but we do it. Unaware. Studies are found we ingest around 5 grams of micro plastic every week. The equivalent by weight of a credit card. The super fine particles are now everywhere. In the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we micro, plastics are in the soil too. Of course, and fertilizers add more all the time. But can they also migrate from there . Into plants. Visible retreat is all about food safety. One vice here doesnt get one, but if him we know that there is a loss of micro plastic in the soil in the environment is patricia. And in this project, we are investigating different uptake pathways all from the, one of the mystery, the routes, and then into the leaves. If tiny plastic particles are in the water, all soil cons might of salt and to find out which back is going to influence uptake. The researches here simulate processes in the lab using puck choice, evenings. Here for game will be a dumb novel to do so we bought nano and mike cray, plastic suspended in most a in the pounds right on couldnt, dont be to then later we can detect the posit close to, to that on the distribution in the plans. No, i would died that the times to base because it goes i t for title indifference. So now lies under the microscope. The died microphone sticks lights up red as expected to pop choice seedlings of absorbed particles through the roots offended octo disaster absorption. These red dots or this reddish mirror, is also found in the rest of the room. All that means its not only absorbed somewhere and then sticks there. Its also somehow being transported inside the plant and we dont know how that happens. Yeah. But the plastic finds ways from the route area to other areas of the plans in both supervisor and the vice in defense of tomatoes, asparagus radishes, and all the plans that expand ended with. So the phone, the 2 scientists have been able to detect plastic residues. But even root this organisms are susceptible. A neighboring nevada tree house is the largest collection of snow own g in the world that ive picked out to that are a bit interesting from a food perspective on one is carmella. Its a single cell green algae sold in health food stores. So thats the reference to food. Then theres field back to which is the diet tom that produces valuable omega 3 fatty acids. The o g o key to the Research Project problem. And i thought we need a simple system to start out with on our experiments. I had a single cell. Algae is easier to work with in a complex plant or tree. Obviously its much easier to try many things out on such a relatively primitive system. It as long as there are some species of algae that seem to take out plastic very well and appear to have no problem with absorbed or micro plastic particles. In terms of appearance in grows, we dont see any differences. Thats why the selected algy are pretty interesting because theyre different species from different branches of the evolutionary tree. Thats normally supervisor suzana bowsman is using a mass spectrometer to investigate the precise effects of plastic particles uptake on organisms. The instrument analyzes the exact mass of various molecular constituents. If the micro caustics cause even the smallest anomalies, they can be detected home esa, im not supposed to. So we have the 1st indications that some compounds of president , tim, lower concentrations, others in higher concentrations, shown on these include secondary plants, compound mix, which balance normally produced to protect themselves from in so far. They help protect it from lights or time by insects in the researches on to efficiently create particles like those that come from ty away the use of greenhouse plastics or garbage and the modem. Well, theres no shortage. It still says im like for plastics. No one wants plastic in the food, but how much home is consumption as she do to us human, to progress versus in canada . And for me, i would love to be able to answer that question and i hope we can do so in the future. Couldnt video things like that, but as of now we still cant assess the risk to the plant itself or to the consumers or animals that eat these pounds, crystal low finish option seals. And the goal is to ensure no plastic ends up on our plates. And the 1st place in the future, the research is going to work on ways to remove it from contaminated organisms. Until then i would find it straightforward via russian. It would probably be best to avoid nano and mike cray, plastics not would have many Positive Side effects. So those people on the environment. But plastic use is on the right. As this, its important tree consumption by food. Clean Drinking Water is scarce in many places on earth. The drive to tap new sources has let us to drill ever deeper wells. In some places fall collection is an option. In others, Energy IntensiveDi Foundation plants turn see water. Fresh purification systems are elaborate and expensive to operate. But as all the water we consume have to be the same, high quality, for instance, does water used to irrigate, feels have to be as clean as tap water. First bounce this field of feed, cool, and looks much like any other thoughts. Its actually an irrigation experiment. That could pioneer war 2, recycling methods in gemini and elsewhere. And its treated wastewater is being used in agriculture as yet to an unknown practice for jim and thomas. But one that could soon be vital for the region south of funding. The soil here has become particularly dry in my god sky and there was no significant rain fall in may. Again, were now already assuming 20 percent crop losses or most of may all the way up until the middle of june. So 6 weeks and all it was far too dry. Nico, who it is pumps must have water, enables growth and stability, nutrient transport. And so to synthesis the last few days of june, at least so some rain, but the form i cant breathe easy when it around gets dry, it gets hard. That means the long dry spell is still visible and hes quoting plants rates using the physical to back here you can see this plants root system, but its clear every too small is that in the lateral roads here should already be longer and penetrate deeper due to talking, i thought that the soil is compact due to the dry spell continued this corn plant couldnt send roots deep enough to reach the water below. Thats why its much smaller yard. The reason of this plan that regular watering would be too expensive. Well, ground water is a sketch results in the region, but theres plenty of readily available to nearby in the sewage plant next to me covered as cornfield via um yup. Well talk. We discharge up to 1100 cubic meters of treated gray water into the black else the river every day as well. So thats water thats removed from the region, the natural waterside color as low as delta units. So grey will say, is treated wastewater, but no said drinking quality. Its long been used for irrigation in southern europe, so nothing gemini back could soon change a new e. U regulation with uniform rules went into force at the end of june. All Sewage Treatment counts in the block that comply and now allowed to divert war to agriculture. The project here is the 1st in gemini lava degree will to constantly be sprayed onto the fields as it is because all the pathogens that are currently present in the population are also still pump. The reflected on the Water Treatment plant can get a low tone