Agraphyt Newsletter 2009-1 Newsletter 2009-1.pdf · #5,003,186) for stratospheric ... See for yourself on and then ... The complete test results will be published on our website on

6-2-2009 Copyright Agraphyt NV 1

Agraphyt NV Meenseweg 142 B-8900 Ieper, Belgium. tel + 32 57 36 32 72

Fax + 32 57 36 09 54 BE 0872 535 289 www.agraphyt.be [email protected]

The 2008 growing season proved again to be most challenging for most plant species, with high stress levels originating from

various sources (fungus, predators, pollution, inclement weather). However, the Chestnut trees at Zwevegem, which form part of

an Agraphyt test bed, were in much better shape than its peers that were not treated with Oenosan®. Source: picture M.A. Juncker

NEWSLETTER INTERNATIONAL EDITION

WINTER 2009

Particulate Matter (PM) and its effect on vegetation…… 2

The new bio certificates for 2009 ………….…………….. 6

2008 Tomato test results ……….…………..…………….. 6

The Agraphyt business plan .…………………………….. 8

The last frontier: the bee population at stake …………... 10


PARTICULATE MATTER (PM) AND ITS EFFECT ON VEGETATION.

Although the fact that more than 100 epidemiologic studies covering the health hazards of

Particulate Matter (PM) exist, the question arises what would be its impact on open eco-

systems. During one of the Oenosan® trials on Elsanta strawberries significant deviations

between test results in open air and under greenhouse were monitored.

At that time neither of us had a clue how to explain this huge discrepancy, but now we believe

it might be originating from PM. What is PM? In scientific literature it is known as pollution

originating from very small particles in the atmosphere. Depending on the particle size one

can speak of PM10 (for particles with a diameter up to 10µm - micrometer or 1/1000 mm) or

PM2.5 (size up to 2.5µm). Particles smaller than 10µm are breathed by humans and are

responsible for a wide array of diseases. It is noteworthy that PM10 has been adopted as the

European standard as being the hard deck for public health. However, it has never been

proven if particles with a size exceeding PM10 are ‘safe’ and also there are no statistics

available on long-term exposure. What causes PM? Industry, agriculture and in a larger

extend our society are partly responsible for the emission of toxins, which attach themselves

on a nucleus, also called the core. The toxins can be summarised in a simplified table:

TYPE OF TOXIN SOURCE

Nitrates and ammonium Road traffic, agriculture

Oxidised hydrocarbons Combustion, diesel engines, industry

Sulphates (Oil) industry, agriculture

Diverse: allergen fragments, lead, zinc Combustion processes

The toll by road traffic and agriculture is very heavy, mainly due to the use of pesticides,

herbicides and extensive use of N-P-K fertilisers. There is more. Military projects, such as

‘contrail grids’ and more popular known as ‘Chemtrails’, sprayed by KC135 airborne tankers

(the military version of the obsolete Boeing 707), also put further stress on the fragile

equilibrium on this planet.

In this context it is worth to mention the findings of B. Fitralis and F. Chess. A scientist

working at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, who insisted on anonymity, told the two authors

that two different secret projects have been conducted. One involved cloud creation

experiments to lessen the effect of global warming. The other involved radiation reflection off

clouds in conjunction with the military's High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program

(HAARP) in Alaska.

The scientist claims that the two most common substances being sprayed into Chemtrails are

aluminum oxide and barium stearate. When you see planes flying back and forth marking

parallel lines, X-patterns and grids in a clear sky, that's aluminum oxide, according to the

scientist. The goal is to create an artificial sunscreen to reflect solar radiation back into space

to alleviate global warming. In some cases, Barium may be sprayed in a similar manner for

the purpose of "high-tech 3-D radar imaging”. This Barium can be used for a 'wire' to shoot

an electromagnetic beam through to take 3-D images of the ground far over the horizon,"

according to the scientist.


The projected Chemtrail pattern for December 6th, 2008: people believing in Santa Claus expect probably nicer presents…

Projected spraying patterns for your area can be downloaded at www.chemtrailalert.com. It is noteworthy that spraying in

Croatia started the day after this country joined NATO. Picture: by courtesy of Kevin Martin, meteorologist, Ontario

Weather Service.

The US government has issued a patent to Hughes aircraft in April 1990 (US patent

#5,003,186) for stratospheric spraying and is now planning to legalize such schemes (US

Senate Bill 1807 and US House Bill 3445). See for yourself on www.uspto.gov and then

search by patent number. How are things in the Low Countries? Well…

Satellite view of Belgium and the Netherlands, taken on December 8th, 2008. The aerial trails

crossing from North to South are clearly visible. Source picture: KNMI Netherlands and

Meteorological Office EBOS, International Airport Oostende- Brugge.


If we pretend to know something about the effect of PM on humans, regardless its civil or

military origin, little do we know about its impact on vegetation and the animal world. Plant

stomata have a diameter of about 10µm, which indicates that all sort of vegetation is also

vulnerable to contamination by PM.

There are 4 basic rules in this matter:

a) Trees do intercept more PM than herbs. This is quite obvious.

b) The larger the leaf surface, the higher the chance for contamination by PM. Leaves

with a coarse structure or plants with sticky leaves catch more PM.

c) Pines do intercept 3 times more PM than conifers.

d) PM can only be removed by precipitation or strong wind.

According to the Wageningen test site in the Netherlands there are no known negative effects

of PM on vegetation. However there is an interesting Chinese survey in this matter:

Journal of Plant Nutrition Issue: Volume 26, Number 9 / 2002

•DOI: Response of Antioxidative Enzymes in Cucumber Chloroplasts to

Cadmium Toxicity

Fenqin Zhang A1 A2

,et al.Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, China

College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou,

China

Abstract:

Solution culture experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of cadmium

(Cd) toxicity on growth of cucumber seedlings, chlorophyll content, and net

photosynthetic rate in leaves, activities of antioxidant enzymes, and contents of

glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid (ASA) in purified intact chloroplasts. Results

showed that lengths of main root and hypocotyl, weights of shoot and root, the

root/shoot ratio, chlorophyll content, and net photosynthetic rate decreased

significantly with increasing Cd level from 0 to 100 µmol L −1

in nutrient solution.

Levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), H 2O 2, and O 2 ·−

in chloroplasts increased with

increasing Cd concentration in solution. In the antioxidant defense system of

chloroplasts, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase

(APX), and glutathione reductase (GR), and the contents of GSH and ASA decreased

with increasing Cd concentration in the nutrient solution. The results suggest that

Cadmium interferes with the growth of cucumber seedlings by destroying chloroplast

membrane integrity and decreasing chlorophyll content and net photosynthetic rate in

leaves.

This survey suggests that the effects of toxins on plant material may not be so innocent as

assumed. PM certainly clogs the stomata, hampering normal physiological processes, such as

capture of moisture in the dew period of the day (the coldest moment is always one hour after


sunrise). The idea that a plant is somewhat protected against PM, because most stomata are

located on the backside of the leaf, is wrong – because PM envelopes the entire lower

atmosphere as a blanket.

There are similarities between clogging of stomata and emphysema on humans, a chronic

obstructive pulmonary disease, caused by exposure to toxic chemicals - including long-term

exposure to tobacco smoke. In both cases the ‘lungs’ are obstructed, which slowly suffocates

the patient.

However there are also differences between both: emphysema is an irreversible degenerative

process and there are no many options to slow down its progression. The most important

measure is to avoid all lung irritants, combined with pulmonary rehabilitation to restore some

quality of life. PM contamination is a reversible process, since it can be washed away by rain

or removed by air current. The problem is that the cure is often as poisonous as the PM itself:

acid rain. The same problem exists in our society: if public health were really a matter,

smoking would have been legally banned since a long time!

Stomata and lungs have somewhat the same functions. Source: by courtesy of Gabriël Devriendt

There may be other factors involved, but PM is one major culprit for the clogging of stomata.

How to counter the problem? Well, let us consider a new economic model, not only based on

Return on Investment at the expense of the entire planet. The unwinding global economic

meltdown is a challenging opportunity for the creation of a new era with new values such as

ecology, quality of life and a new perception of time that counter balance return. Will that

happen? Time will tell!

Marc A. Juncker, climate lecturer KHBO


THE NEW BIO CERTIFICATES FOR OENOSAN®

Agraphyt NV has obtained new certificates of conformity, originating from Certisys, for the

use of Oenosan® in Organic agriculture. Please note that the codes of the individual

certificates vary with the language and are subject to change each year. For the year 2009 the

details for each certificate of conformity are as follows:

Language Certification paper Code Valid until

English ATIN-801876-gb 42396 October 10th

, 2009

French ATIN-801874-fr 38614 October 10th

, 2009

German ATIN-801877-de 11257 October 10th

, 2009

Dutch ATIN-801875-nl 61948 October 10th

, 2009

2008 TOMATO TEST RESULTS

The research station Scientia Terrae, located in St.-Katelijne-Waver (B), under supervision of

Dr. Coppens, senior research associate in Soil Quality and Nutrient Management, has

performed valuable testing on Minibel Tomatoes.

11-day old tomato plants were treated weekly with Oenosan® according the published user

protocol. During 7 weeks growth and evolution was closely monitored, as well of the treated

as the untreated plot. The photographic results are as follows:

Results after 1 week; top row untreated; bottom row treated: note the colour intensity and the size of the plants that were

sprayed with Oenosan®. This effect is due to the nature of calcite, which contains natural levels of Magnesium and Iron.

(Source picture: Scientia Terrae by courtesy of Dr. Coppens)


Results after the 4th week: the difference between both plots is clearly visible. (Source picture: Scientia Terrae by courtesy of

Dr. Coppens).

However, differences between both plots gradually decreased as from the 4th week on.

Furthermore differences of crop output were statistically not relevant. Parallel to the

application scheme on tomatoes there were similar tests on basilicum. These results were not

clear cut as far as hydric stress combat was concerned, but very promising information was

revealed in the field of crop output. Dry mass increased by about 15%, while its mass at

harvest time was about 13% up.

Note the increase in mass: mass at harvest time (left) and dry mass at harvest time (right). (Source graphic: Scientia

Terrae by courtesy of Dr. Coppens).

The complete test results will be published on our website on release of this newsletter.


THE AGRAPHYT BUSINESS PLAN

The credit crunch caught most companies, financials on the top, by surprise. Not only billions

evaporated on the stock market in 2008, but we do feel that market consolidation is not yet in

sight. However there are some sparks in the dark. According to the BBC news agency

companies involved in ecology and alternative energy are much less affected than those

operating in ‘traditional’ sectors.

It is an art to translate the challenges of this economic downturn into opportunities. Although

we know that 2009 will not be the easiest year for Agraphyt there are signs that a major

breakthrough on a global scale may be achieved. In the Netherlands a new distributor,

Agratoni, will concentrate his efforts for the introduction of Oenosan® in the many

greenhouses. In the meantime talks with Encrest in St. Avold (Lorraine) are in its final stage

for distributorship in France. Also in Italy the first steps are made to introduce the product.

Last but not least we have to mention the excellent business results of Biodosa PTY in South

Africa.

However, we feel that this year’s effort should be concentrated on R&D with a lot of new

testing under way. Reliable scientific reports, also called HSE (Hard Scientific Evidence)

form the backbone of the breakthrough.

Marc Juncker discussing the test results with Mr. Yiannis Paraskevopoulos of Gaia Wine Estate, Santorini Island,

August 2008. Gaia has become chief test facility for Agraphyt in Greece.


A non exhaustive list of the trials planned for 2009 is as follows:

Country Agency or test facility Test item

Belgium PCS Merelbeke Taxus, natural resistance against black

vine weevil (Otiorhynchus Sulcatus)

Belgium PCK Roosdaal / Pamel Strawberries and raspberries, natural

resistance against mildew

Belgium Test site Zwevegem Chestnut trees, natural resistance

against leaf miners

France Château de la Grille,

Chinon

Cabernet Franc grapes, natural

resistance against diseases

Greece Gaia Wine Esate,

Peleponnesos

Agiorgitiko grapes, monitoring of

qualitative parameters

Italy Pacina, Siena Sangiovese grapes, monitoring of

general parameters

Malta Meridiana Connonau (Grenacha) grapes, hydric

stress control

Slovenia Movia Pinot Noir and Rebula grapes,

monitoring of general parameters

South Africa Biodosa Potatoes, natural resistance against

potato disease

Of especially great importance is the project in the Loire area. A lot of European vineyards

are steadily being invaded by Esca, a complex disease involving several microorganisms of

the fungi family, whose role in the process lead to wood degradation. Annual losses mount to

5% (and increasing!), resulting in an extra cost of about 10,000 Euro per hectare. Little is

known about this new menace and as for now scientists are puzzled how to act. Esca attacks

vines that are about to reach their maturity stage (± 10 years age), which makes any encounter

a very costly experience.

The project in Chinon in co-operation with château de la Grille, which produces super

premium wines, is a spin off from the trials on the chestnut trees in Zwevegem, Belgium.

During 3 consecutive years the leaf miners attacked the weaker (untreated) chestnut trees,

leaving the others that were sprayed with Oenosan® relatively unharmed.

Last but not least we are considering re-allocation of our production facility in the vicinity of

Dresden (Sachsen, Germany). This is not only a matter of cost accounting, but the investment

environment is much friendlier, especially for newcomers. 2009 will thus certainly be a

milestone in the history of Agraphyt, with a lot of projects amidst an … economic downturn.


THE LAST FRONTEER: THE BEE POPULATION AT STAKE?

On their travels, bees transfer pollen from plant to plant, flower to flower, fertilizing the

blossoms and allowing them to set fruit. This ancient partnership of pollinator and plant is

essential to life on earth. Albert Einstein once stated that men would have only four years of

life left if the bees disappeared. This is very true, because one-third of the food we eat comes

from animal pollinators (bees, butterflies, beetles, birds or bats). However, bees do play a

major role in this cycle, being vital for clover – which is again processed into hay for feeding

of cattle. Do you see the interconnection?

Already in 2007 the New York Times published a scary article about a catastrophe in the

making, the food apocalypse. Throughout the country, in Europe as well as in the United

States, beekeepers are getting the shock of their lives seeing hundreds of millions of bees

literally disappearing. The hives are empty… Researchers say the bees are dying in the

fields, exhausted and disorientated. They have labeled this affliction CCD or Colony

Collapse Disorder. However the British department of the environment, food and rural affairs

insists that there is absolutely ‘no evidence’ of CCD in the United Kingdom. How British

indeed! Although it is spreading very rapidly with losses between 20% (Belgium) up to 70%

(United States) no one ‘knows’ what is happening.

One fact remains: the hives are empty. Theories involve mites, extensive use of pesticides,

global warming, pollution, GM crops and mobile telephony – but all have drawbacks. Let us

put each theory very briefly in the line of fire.

Theory #1: industrial agriculture kills bees.

Pesticides and the introduction of GM crops go hand in hand. Farmers in North America have

been blitzing their fields with millions of tons of herbicides / pesticides for decades and partly

because these agents are becoming less effective they switched to genetically engineered

crops. Marc Sircus, Ac., OMD and director of the International Medical Veritas Association

refers to a study performed by the university of Jena (Thuringia, Germany). Bees were

released on a field of genetically engineered rapeseed (canola). They took the pollen back to

their hive and fed it to the young bees. When scientists analyzed the bacteria in the gut of the

young bees they discovered that it contained the same gene traits as those of the modified

crops. This is indeed an alarming study, because no one knows how the bee colonies react on

this genetic manipulation.

Theory #2: industry and subsequent pollution kills bees.

Scientists have already studied mercury levels in the head, abdomen and thorax of bees.

Mercury is a harsh neurological poison that affects neurological tissues throughout the animal

kingdom (as well as humans!) and it is very possible that it is affecting the sensitive brains of

honeybees. When the mercury level reaches a critical mass the brain cells stop dividing and

simply shut down. So the bees lose their navigation capability. Who is responsible for

emission of mercury? Power plants are the largest unregulated source of waist of mercury in

nature – a yearly release of 48 tons of mercury in the air for the US alone! But oil, fertilizers

and pesticides also have their deadly toll. This brings us to the fact theories 1 and 2 may be

combined.


Bees are crucial for the survival of mankind on this planet. (Source Picture: Pascal Vyncke

www.SeniorenNet.be )

Theory #3: global warming and mites kill bees.

A temperature rise of less than 1°C at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia results in the mass

starvation of the coral. So eco-systems are very vulnerable to temperature changes, not only

because it disrupts the existing equilibrium but it also results in a horizontal (latitude) or

vertical migration (altitude) of species. Some cities in South America at higher altitude are

now vulnerable to mosquito invasions. Newcomers in an existing eco-system have only two

options: to destroy the existing system or to be destroyed by the autochthon population. This

is exactly what happens with the mites, which are invading the bee colonies. When we

combine this theory with the effects of pollution and genetic change on young bees, one can

wonder why bees just disappear out of the hives. They simply have no immunity left…

Theory #4: mobile telephony kills bees.

In the vicinity of power lines, linking those industrial complexes mentioned under the second

hypothesis, the normal extension of vegetation is disrupted. German research has long shown

that bees’ behavior also changes in the vicinity of power lines. Now a limited study at

Landau University (Bavaria, Germany) has found that bees refuse to return to their hives

when active mobile telephones are placed nearby. Dr. J. Kuhn, who carried out the survey,

said this could provide a ‘hint’ to a possible cause. Scientists are very ‘reluctant’ to point this

as the primary cause for CCD, because there are too many economic and financial interests at

stake. There is more: parasites, wildlife and solitary bees that normally raid an empty


hive after the death of a colony, in the search of honey and pollen, refuse to go anywhere

near the abandoned hives. This is indeed a very strong indication!

So far for the hypothesis! The public does not recognize the magnitude of threat that those

mysterious events present – that the entire planet earth is on the brink of a pollination crisis.

It is also understandable that governments and groups that are at the helm of our system do

not want to create panic by creating an association between the coming disaster in agriculture

(due to CCD) and the tremendous rise in mercury levels. What good is it for Europe to

eliminate the use of mercury if the US, China and India do not pose any restriction on its use?

If we combine these effects with population growth the food apocalypse is just a few years

ahead.

In Agraphyt we feel it is time to reveal this most inconvenient truth. What can you do for

yourself? Well, store food for your family for at least one-month time. For those who are

mocking, well ask yourself why the Norwegian government built a 165m- long bunker on

Spitsbergen, containing about 4.5 million seeds?

NEXT NEWSLETTER…

Preview of the next Agraphyt newsletter: hydric stress on a global scale and its solutions. Water is indeed the

commodity of the future! Stay tuned with us!

Documents

Agraphyt Newsletter 2009-1 Newsletter 2009-1.pdf · #5,003,186) for stratospheric ... See for yourself on and then ... The complete test results will be published on our website on