Science: Botanical Booby Trap

In Ithaca, N.Y., last week Cornell Entomologist William E. Blauvelt announced the development of a unique insecticide designed for flowers alone. The soil around a plant is soaked with a mixture of sodium selenate and water, which penetrates to roots, sap, foliage and buds. Then, says Dr. Blauvelt, “the bug bites the plants and the plants bite back.”