VOA慢速英语20060704a

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Jojoba: Not Your Usual Oilseed CropBy Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Mon, 3 Jul 2006 16:00:00 UTC

I'm Shep O'Neal with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.


Jojoba plants

We have an e-mail from Phan Tan Hien, who wants to know about the jojoba [ho-HO-ba] plant and the uses for its oil.

Jojoba is a woody plant that grows in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It needs dry weather and cannot survive low temperatures.

The jojoba plant produces a high quality oil. In fact, more than half of the seed can be oil. This liquid wax does not spoil easily. And it keeps its chemical qualities at temperatures up to three hundred degrees Celsius¹.

Jojoba oil is mainly used in skin care and beauty products. Scientists say the oil is chemically similar to the oil produced by human skin.

But jojoba oil can also be used to control insects on crops. It was approved in the United States as a pesticide² in nineteen ninety-six.

It can be sprayed on all crops to fight white flies. It is also used to control mildew³ on grapes and on non-food plants. Jojoba-based pesticides⁴ work mainly by forming a barrier between a plant leaf and pests.

The Environmental Protection Agency says jojoba oil is not a risk to non-target organisms. And it says it does not know of any harmful effects to humans even if the oil is eaten. But farmers should not release jojoba products into waterways. Oils are generally dangerous to water life.

Many industrial uses for jojoba oil are being studied. It can be used as a lubricant for machines or electronic parts. It has even been considered as a low-calorie food additive⁵ because the body cannot break down jojoba oil.

Large plantings of jojoba in the United States are said to date back to the late nineteen seventies. The export market started to grow in the middle of the nineties. By two thousand, the Agriculture Department found that about ninety percent of American jojoba oil was exported. France, Switzerland and Japan are major importers.

The International Jojoba Export Council has members in Mexico and the United States. It also includes companies and universities in Australia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Egypt and Israel.

A limited number of producers, and changing harvest conditions, mean that prices for jojoba oil can change sharply.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. For more information about jojoba, go to www.unsv.com. We have a link to a guide written by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Minnesota. I'm Shep O'Neal.

1 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

2 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

3 mildew   

n.发霉；v.（使）发霉

参考例句：

• The interior was dark and smelled of mildew.里面光线很暗，霉味扑鼻。
• Mildew may form in this weather.这种天气有可能发霉。

4 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 additive   

adj.附加的；n.添加剂

参考例句：

• Colour is often an additive in foods.颜料经常是各种食物中的添加物。
• Strict safety tests are carried out on food additives.对食品添加剂进行了严格的安全检测。