The burrowing nematode, a worm, is damaging banana plantations worldwide. Actual control methods use toxic nematicides to kill the worm. Alternative control methods are therefore needed due to the high demand for safer and organic food. Agronomists Jesus et al. found that an extract of sisal, a plant species growing in desert areas, is effective to contol nematodes. This method is cheap because the sisal extract is a byproduct of fiber and fabric production from the sisal plant.