Psalm 91:3 "Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence."
The Peruvian Andes gave the world the potato,
which is one of the largest crops in the world today. The problem is,
the modern potato is plagued by potato beetles and aphids, which also
carry some viral diseases to the plant. Now a wild potato found in the
Bolivian Andes is being studied because it seems to be quite resistant
to these pests.
The
Bolivian potato defends itself using tiny hairs on its leaves called
trichomes. There are roughly the same number of tall and short trichomes
on the leaves, and they work together to provide a complete defense
system for the plant. The hairs are so closely spaced that even a tiny
aphid cannot avoid them. The end of each hair has a sack filled with
defense chemicals. The short trichomes release their chemicals only when
disturbed. The longer trichomes continuously release their chemicals.
When an aphid gets on a leaf, its legs cannot avoid coming in contact
with the sticky fluid the short trichomes release. To make certain that
the aphid collects enough of the sticky stuff, the plant also releases a
chemical that agitates the aphid. This gooey liquid finally sets up
into a hard mass, leaving the aphid to starve. It also appears that a
scent emitted by one of the trichomes makes the leaves completely
distasteful to potato beetles.
A potato may someday be developed that can
save itself from the pestilence of aphids and beetles. But we cannot
save ourselves from the pestilence of our sin. That's why God sent His
Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins.
That is amazing!!! I sure enjoyed this since my husband and I have been learning to grow potatoes.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, dear Ashley