A charcoal-like material hailed as a savior in the fight against climate change may have an added benefit: killing crop-eating pests.
That’s the finding of researchers at the University of Arkansas who tested what would happen to caterpillars exposed to biochar, a grainy black material made by burning woody material in the absence of oxygen.
The study published last May in the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment revealed that certain caterpillars that ate biochar grew less and turned into moths that were also smaller than normal and died prematurely.
If further studies expand on the findings — and show how to keep beneficial species safe — biochar could one day become a natural pest management tool for farmers, helping them rely less on chemical pesticides, the authors wrote.
