sterilize

An experimental program seeks to protect California almond trees from a pesky moth by using X-rays to sterilize the insects.

The curious calico and her orange tomcat friend, Monu, had recently been sterilized and returned to the market.

But with limited budgets and climate change threatening to make the pest situation worse, researchers are studying another yet-to-be-proven approach: sterilizing almost a million moths a day with radiation and dropping them out of planes.

Ultimately, it’s up to retailers to remove affected products from the case and sterilize equipment properly.

He noted that one machine his team is working on — a smart steamer that sterilizes soil — can be used near schools, where people don’t want “nasty chemical stuff.”