Ants move busily on their six agile legs. It catches up with its fellow antennae-bearing bugs that roam the tree’s sinuous surfaces, constantly hunting for food. While doing so, each person unknowingly leaves behind antibiotic microorganisms secreted by their feet.
Tiny footprints, invisible to the naked eye, are very effective in protecting trees from pathogens and pests. In Ida Cecilie Jensen’s eyes, the ants are a legion of unexpected warriors. A human being should consider joining the fight to grow food in a warming world. “Ants are a Swiss Army knife.” That’s what biologist Jensen says, who studies the symbiotic relationship between ants and agriculture at Aarhus University in Denmark. “It’s like a multipurpose tool for farmers.”
by estimate 20 trillion ants At any given time on Earth, bugs are found almost everywhere on Earth. They also belong to the human species, outnumbered by at least 2.5 million to 1 and have the most in common. Ants Unique collective intelligenceTheir colonies build strong community networks and divide labor. Social insects sometimes wage war with each other and build complex agricultural systems.
Ants also “have so many of the same problems and challenges that we have,” Jensen said. “Fortunately, they have already found many great solutions.” One of those challenges is how to grow food while facing climate-induced consequences, such as the introduction of plant pathogens. caused by warming.
Plant diseases cost the global economy hundreds of billions of dollars each year. Accounts for 20-40% of global crop production Crop diseases and pests have caused damage. climate change increased risk of developing Modifies how pathogens evolve, promotes the emergence of new variants, and It makes crops more susceptible to infection.. Most farmers and growers Increasingly dependent on chemical pesticides Although efforts have been made to address these new problems, the widespread use of these substances has created its own problems. Synthetic pesticides include: harmful to humans and animalsIt loses its effectiveness as a pathogen. Build resistance to them. Production and use of synthetic pesticides also contribute to climate changeBecause some are derived from global warming fossil fuels.
Instead of chemicals, a swarm of ants might march right in. Most people consider these tiny insects a nuisance, but colonies of ants are being placed in orchards in a small number of countries to prevent the spread of serious infections and diseases. .
In one body recently published And in an upcoming study, Jensen is examining the antibacterial effects of wood ants, European wild ants known to build dome-shaped nests in fields and open woodlands, and weaver ants, which live in ball-shaped nests within tropical tree canopies across Asia and Africa. I did it. And Australia. Her team examined how microbes affected apple brown rot and apple scab in two orchards in Denmark (a commercial and an experimental orchard) and found that wood ants effectively reduced apple brown rot. apple scabThis can result in significant yield losses of up to 61% on average. Scientists also found that the number of disease-free apples more than doubled compared to when ants were not used as an alternative biological pesticide. In another experiment in Senegal, they collected weaver ants from mango orchards and examined the bacterial communities associated with them, and found that they also leave microbial footprints that can suppress fungal diseases such as: mango anthracnoseThis can lead to extensive yield losses.
According to past research Crops from cocoa to citrus fruitsAnts can replace pesticides in a variety of climates and locations, reducing pear scab development on pear trees, coffee leaf rust on coffee shrubs, and leaf mold attacks on oak seedlings. Weaver Ant Nests, used as an alternative pesticide for mango, cashew and citrus trees, have all been shown to: Reduces pest damage and produces equivalent yields. Several chemical pesticide treatments are used. For more than a thousand years, the species has been accepted as a natural pesticide in countries like China, but has never made it into mainstream agriculture in North America or Europe. This method would eventually be replaced by the advent of synthetic solutions. But despite that legacy, how ants contract diseases remains a scientific mystery.
The answer lies in how ants function, Jensen said. All species of arthropods have bodies that are inherently hostile to bacteria because they continually produce formic acid, which they use to disinfect themselves. Ants are also constantly hungry little beings that feed on, among other things, the spores of plant pathogens. The ants’ formic acid secretion and highly territorial nature tend to deter swarms of other insects that could transmit disease or make lunch for some farmers. ‘ Crop. Ultimately, their biggest secret is what Jensen’s latest research reveals. Ants inherently carry antibacterial bacteria and fungi on their bodies and feet, which can reduce plant diseases in damaged crops due to the accumulation of these microorganisms as the animals walk. When grown in orchards, these bugs march over the trees and with their feet coat the plants with microbial organisms that can keep new pathogens in check.
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Understanding why this works makes it easier to promote and implement native ant species as biological vectors in fields and farms, something Jensen advocates. Not only is she researching how to do this as a PhD candidate, she founded AgroAnt in 2022. This is a company that rents out colonies to farmers in Denmark to rid themselves of plant pathogens and pests, much like beekeepers rent out beehives. Her research team is now investigating ways to increase the population of existing ant colonies already living in orchards, rather than introducing new ones. Building rope bridges between trees to help ants get around better and increasing the number of sugar extracts left in strategic locations to feed the ants can lead to an ant population boom. Jensen sees this as a simple, inexpensive way for farmers to prevent costly ant attacks. Crop diseases.
Others are not convinced that it will be any more useful or cost-effective than conventional biopesticides, such as canola oil or baking soda, or pest management chemicals derived from natural sources.
Kerik Cox, who studies plant pathology at Cornell University, said in the study that many of the ant-derived microorganisms have already been studied and optimized for formulation and efficacy in agricultural systems. “There are a number of commercial products available to farmers, many of which are very effective,” Cox said. “The study shows that nothing is better than existing biopesticidal tools,” he added. registered by [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency].”
Jensen acknowledges there are always risks when introducing any species. For example, ants that are new to an area may crowd out other beneficial species or attract aphids, insects that damage small green plants that share a symbiotic relationship with the ants. Nonetheless, she is adamant that the possible benefits outweigh the pitfalls as long as the species is native to the region and agricultural system into which it is being introduced and is managed properly.
In practical terms, Ant’s money-saving argument against synthetic products also has great appeal. In particular, in addition to existing pesticides Organic, chemical-free productsPrices have become more expensive in recent years. europe and us. Prices for these products tend to rise when production is disrupted by extreme climate shocks, most likely because climate change is making disasters more frequent and severe.
Conversely, Jensen said farmers can simply leave kitchen scraps like sugar water solution, cat food or chicken bones in fruit orchards where beneficial, pathogen-fighting ants, such as weaver ants in mango orchards, are typically already present. If the species is already living there, their numbers and efficiency can increase. However, this technique must be approached carefully, depending on the location, to minimize the risk of attraction. Potentially Harmful Ant Family Members.
“I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all solution, but I do believe that ants and other biological control agents are [climate] “It’s going to be a puzzle going forward,” she said.
