Re: Bug Free AG Plant!

    The only insects I've seen on my AG plants are squash vine borers, squash 
bugs, cucumber beetles and bees, and it wouldn't bother me a bit if my AG 
plants were toxic to the first three mentioned, however, if the pollen from 
the flowers were found to be toxic to the bees that are already in trouble 
due to "mites" that are killing them off, we would have to take measures to 
insure they can't get to the pollen,  maybe by pinching off most of the 
flowers before opening and covering the ones we intend to use for pollination 
purposes, if you are growing only a few plants this wouldn't be to much of a 
problem since a lot of us pinch them before burying the vine anyway. and as 
far as the butterflies go, I haven't seen one on any of my AG flowers yet, 
I'm not saying they don't, I'm just saying "I" haven't seen any, (Cuke 
beetles won't let them land) he-he! But the pinching of flowers would protect 
them also. I do not see anything wrong with trying to improve on something, 
(natural or scientific) most of us grow these pumpkins for competition and 
the pleasure of it and don't use this type of pumpkin for food, there are 
sweeter and tastier varieties for this, in my opinion Monsanto's BT. gene 
might be worth looking into.-----(Elkskin)


<< They did this recently (with the BT gene process) with corn, which was 
bigger 
 news than anything else here. There is big controversy over it though, some 
 people saying that it is dangerous to genetically mess with food. They also 
 mentioned that overseas in Europe, they all think we are insane. But we have 
 been doing stuff with corn for years (the se and sh2 genes and all that). 
 They did find out that the pollen of the BT enhanced corn was deadly if 
 butterflies ate it, and who knows what else. So who knows what it would do 
to 
 the pollen of pumpkins, or the leaves, or anything else. Messing with nature 
 genetically can be dangerous, unlike messing with it by enhancing natural 
 selection, which is basically what we are doing to get pumpkins over 1000 
 pounds!
  >>

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