[Terrapreta] Fwd: Terra Preta and Ants

Thu Dec 13 22:24:03 CST 2007

I realize that activated charcoal is many times more active than  
untreated charcoal.  But I assume the difference in their activity is  
just a matter of degree.

I welcome any suggestions on what anybody thinks might better explain  
the apparent - however limited - insecticidal activity of charcoal.

On 13-Dec-07, at 9:23 PM, Edward Someus wrote:

> Dear Gerrit
>
> Thanx for this interesting paper.
>
> TECHNICAL NOTICE:
> Activated charcoal (from gas mask 300 mesh about 50 micron) is very  
> much different than TP.
>
> Activated charcoal is an aggressive - powerful absorbent with  
> specific surface area BET 650-1200 m2/g, while TP is mild with  
> specific surface area BET 25-100 m2/g, As far as I know CALCON  
> Carbon tried to put in activated carbon to soil since long time,  
> but was not successful.
>
>
>
> Sincerely yours: Edward Someus (environmental engineer)
> Terra Humana Clean Tech Ltd. (ISO 9001/ISO 14001)
> 3R Environmental Technologies Ltd.
> ADDRESS: H-1222 Budapest, Szechenyi 59, Hungary
> TEL handy:  +(36-20) 201 7557
> TEL / FAX:   +(36-1) 424 0224
> TEL SKYPE phone via computer:  Edward Someus
> 3R TERRACARBON:   http://www.terrenum.net
> 3R CLEANCOAL ENERGY: http://www.nvirocleantech.com
>
> -------Original Message-------
>
> From: Gerald Van Koeverden
> Date: 2007.12.14. 2:06:44
> To: Terra Preta
> Subject: [Terrapreta] Fwd: Terra Preta and Ants
>
> According to a old research study, the effect of charcoal fines on  
> insects might have nothing to do with it as an abrasive or  
> 'scratchy' medium.  This article shows that certain dusts actually  
> absorb the lipoid layer from the exoskelton of bees without any  
> apparent abrasion, resulting in the dehydration of the insect.
>
> The results (Table 1) show
> that all the dusts effected an increase in the rate of water-loss  
> of the dead bees; that
> the three most effective dusts were silica gel, Almicide and  
> activated charcoal, the
> common physical property of these materials being their capacity to  
> act as powerful
> absorbents; that Bentonite and activated charcoal, both soft  
> materials, were more
> effective than carborundum, which is hard and highly abrasive.  
> These facts again
> indicate that abrasion is not an important factor in the action of  
> these dusts in dis-
> rupting the waterproofing layers, and suggest furthermore that they  
> may act by
> adsorbing the lipoid material.
>
> http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/32/1/95.pdf
>
> Gerrit
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Gerald Van Koeverden <vnkvrdn at yahoo.ca>
> Date: December 13, 2007 12:55:28 PM EST (CA)
> To: Saibhaskar Nakka <saibhaskarnakka at gmail.com>
> Cc: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org, terrapreta-owner at bioenergylists.org
> Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Terra Preta and Ants
>
> Dr. Reddy,
>
> The fines of rice hull ash mixed in with stored seeds are very  
> effective in controlling weevils.  (Rice hulls have a very high  
> silica content.)  The sharp silica structures in the ash scratch  
> the cutinous exoskelton of the first insects to emerge, leaving  
> them to dessicate before they can breed and lay more eggs.  (I was  
> taught this in a weekend course by the Tropical Products Insitute,  
> U.K.)
>
> DE (diatomaceous earth) will do the same because of its silica  
> edges, and is also used for pest control in storing grain.  It is  
> also recommended to add DE to compost for the same reason:  it is  
> not injurious to beneficials in the process like the digestive  
> tract of worms, but will control certain pests that like to  
> colonize compost piles.
>
> Could it be that the charcoal has similar cystalline structures  
> which keeps the insects away...in fear of being scratched to death...?
>
> Gerald
>
>
> On 13-Dec-07, at 12:06 PM, Saibhaskar Nakka wrote:
>
>
>
> Dear All,
>
>
> After the successful field trials in Alkaline soils http://e- 
> alkalinesoilsterrapreta.blogspot.com/ , I have just started second  
> season TP experiments on a small scale on our Roof top in small  
> pots http://e-terrapretarooftopexp.blogspot.com/. The charcoal is  
> exclusively from use of Magh-1 woodgas or smoke burner stove http:// 
> e-smokeburnerstove.blogspot.com/ designed by me. I would like to  
> share some of my immediate observations.
>
> One day after establishing pots and the seed with soil and charcoal  
> and only soil. I have sowed brinjal seeds in the 6 with charcoal +  
> soil and 6 only soil. To my surprise I saw that in the three  
> control pots the seeds were eaten away by small red ants. The six  
> pots with a mix of about 30% charcoal were untouched by ants. In TP  
> practice the chances of germination of the seed with out any loss  
> to creatures like ants is minimized. I thought this is the first  
> direct benefit of using charcoal. On day two I saw that all the  
> pots without charcoal are with small red ants. There is not a  
> single ant in the pot with charcoal addition.
>
> Although I love ants, to avoid ants eating away the seeds sown, we  
> could always add some charcoal along with the seeds. Second  
> important application is that in the Vermicompost pits some ants  
> eat away the earthworms to avoid such problem and for value  
> addition to the compost to create a habitat for microbes, we could  
> as well add charcoal.
>
> From web I learnt that those you want to avoid toxic chemicals are  
> using charcoal and diatomous earth as a repellant for ants. For  
> photographs please see the blog below.
>
> http://e-terrapretarooftopexp.blogspot.com/
>
> I would like to know from your experiences what could be the other  
> impacts in using Charcoal to the living things existing in soil.
>
>
> Dr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy
>
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