Review Red Monarch

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READERS who have been following the controversy over "yellow rain" in South East Asia are probably totally confused. Are the Russians using chemical warfare or is it an American smear campaign?

The latest idea about "yellow rain" (where yellow spots contaminated with rare and deadly mycotoxins - poisons from fungi - have been found in areas where local people are said to have suffered serious and sometimes fatal symptoms) is that they are a natural phenomenon.

According to Professor M. Meselson of Harvard, the spots are bee poo! Bees eat lots of pollen but keep the. , residue for months before flying out of their hives for a gigantic crap.

They may deposit up to two-fifths of their body weight as yellow spots which cover the found in the rich corn (maize) and soyabean fields of the USA.

Here, it has been found that the newest pesticides (the carbamates), designed to be effective for several weeks after spraying are breaking down and losing their potency in a few days.

The culprits are various micro-organisms (bacteria and fungi) which far from being killed by these chemicals, have actually adapted so they can live off them! They may also be living off the urea-based fertilisers which should be encouraging the corn and soya to grow.

The presence of the carbamates in the soil stimulates the micro-organisms to make an enzyme la type of protein) which can chop the pesticides into bits, releasing energy and materials for the micro-organisms to grow with.

One response to this problem has been to treat the soil with chemicals - that inhibit this enzyme from breaking down the pesticides, but there are fears that the bugs will merely adapt so they can live off the "inhibitors"

So, eventually, agriculturalists will have to switch away from a solely chemical strategy to protect crops, at present grown in vast plantations which are a standing invitation to predators.

They will have to try natural methods of pest control, including developing resistant strains of crops themselves (see my article on genetic poverty a fortnight ago). 'RED Monarch' is a movie which will soon be in the cinemas. It was shown on Channel Four TV last Thursday.

'Red Monarch' is a 'black comedy' about Stalin and his 'court' in the years immediately before he died in 1953. It shows him as a crazed paranoid tyrant surrounded by terrified lieutenants and toadies whose lives bang on his mood and whim.

Stalin the tyrant ruled the livRussians having English excents. This is a brillians idea