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Glossary entry

Czech term or phrase:

selektivní vůči

English translation:

selective against, selective for

Added to glossary by Maria Chmelarova
Oct 26, 2009 10:37
14 yrs ago
Czech term

selektivn� vůči

Czech to English Science Agriculture plant protection product (pesticide)
In English, I understand "selective for" (or "selective against") to mean that the product kills the intended "target species" while leaving other species unharmed, e.g. "selective for spider mites" means it's aimed specifically against spider mites.

In this text, "selektivn� vůči" is used in a way which I don't understand:
Př�pravek je selektinvn� vůči antagonistům �kodliv�ho hmyzu

xxx je selektivn� vůči akarofagn�m pred�torům z čeledi Coccinelidae, drav�m drabičkům rodu Oligota a drav�m plo�tic�m ....

Aren't those predator insects doing a good job eating the pests? Why kill the predators rather than the pests?
Can someone explain this?
Proposed translations (English)
4 selective against
Change log

Oct 31, 2009 13:28: Maria Chmelarova changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/46187">Dylan Edwards's</a> old entry - "selektivní vůči"" to ""selective against, selective for""

Discussion

Maria Chmelarova Oct 26, 2009:
doplnok to plati aj v suvislosti s vasou predoslou otazkou - jadroviny a pozivanie chemikalii. Kontrola skodcov jabloni (pome) nie je vhodna na kontrolu skodcov (egresov, pomarancov ) atd.
Maria Chmelarova Oct 26, 2009:
selectivni -as highly specific in activity
-konajuci podla potreby
In general "pests", yes they are good, but if they are over populatede, they are not.
Kostas Zgafas Oct 26, 2009:
Yes, it is possible these might be side effects, as you said previously, and the meaning is: "unfortunately, we were not able to prevent it from killing also...", then "selective to" would be just a diplomatic way of saying it.:-)
Gerry Vickers Oct 26, 2009:
In many cases texts such as this have been translated from English in the first place - on several occasions I have seen errors/over-fancy language in translations of medicine PILs, for example, that have not been corrected and they then enter 'standard' usage. I agree - ask the client to see if this is what is *really* meant, and if not put it down as an error on the part of either the author or the original translator. Alternatively try and find an English version on the internet.
Kostas Zgafas Oct 26, 2009:
This is really a sort of question for the client.
Dylan Edwards (asker) Oct 26, 2009:
"Risks to non-target organisms and the environment" - that's one part of the labelling, and under this heading it says, e.g., "Very poisonous to fish". Last on the list, it says the product is "selective" for all the "antagonists" of harmful insects. This doesn't inspire much confidence in the product, does it?
Dylan Edwards (asker) Oct 26, 2009:
Thanks - it's good to know that others are puzzled too! - but one thing I've noticed, on re-reading the text, is that the first of the above phrases is actually in the list of "risks to non-target organisms". In other words, I think they mean that this is a side-effect of the pesticide rather than its intended effect.
It still seems rather odd to use the word selektivní...
Kostas Zgafas Oct 26, 2009:
This seems to be rather a puzzle. Google shows that the phrase "...selektivni vuci antagonistum skodliveho hmyzu... does appear in several BLs for pesticides. Probably is the meaning of "selektivni vuci" more general and it includes also "selectively protects - avoids"?
Martin Janda Oct 26, 2009:
I guess the writer... ...wanted to sound fancy but simply has not mastered his or her mother tongue enough. I believe he wanted to say the stuff is not harmful to the predator species, but the only way how to be sure is to ask the client.

I am not posting this as an answer because it's not a correct translation of the term you are querying.

Proposed translations

1 day 4 hrs
Selected

selective against

"Ortus je selektivní vuči akarofágním predátorum rodu Oligota z čeledi Coccinelidae, dravým drabčíkum rodu Oligota a dravým plšticím rodu orius".
As you wrote "the product kills/controls particulas insects".
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you. This is what it means - or should mean! I would say either "selective for" or "selective against" - they mean the same thing. In the context of this particular text, about a pesticide which is sold for use against spider mites, it is rather strange that they don't say that the pesticide is selective for spider mites - on the contrary, they say it is selective for certain predators (which probably eat spider mites)!"
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