Topic: weedkiller

[davyw1]

Never had the urge to use the stuff on my garden and manage to keep it quite weeds down with just a bit of graft, i get them the same as anyone else after all if you did not then the soil would be no good.

[Melbourne12]

Monsanto are a bunch of crooks. I wouldn't believe anything they said.

What an extraordinary assertion!  ;D

Especially as I understand that they speak very highly of you.  :)

[Larkshall]

After failing to control the weeds (docks, nettles, horseradish and a few other persistent weeds) in the last few years, I am trying a new idea this year (and the weather is co-operating). In despair, I decided to return to my farming days of 50 years ago. I have enlarged my vegetable plot by digging up some more grass land, I then divided it into two, one is for cropping this year and the other is fallow this and will be cropped next year, while the first half will be fallow next year. Whenever the fallow land shows weeds coming through it will be rotavated, killing off the weeds. The cropped area will have to be hoed regularly to control the weeds on that. I am on extremely heavy clay (a mixture of Oxford clay, Kimmeridge clay and Boulder clay).

[lincsyokel2]

Monsanto also sells crops genetically-engineered to be tolerant to Roundup.

The plants are also genetically engineered to be sterile, so you cant collect the seed and  use it for next years crop. You have to buy seed from Monsanto, which is the evil  of it, because they charge an arm and a leg for the seed. If any plants seed by accident, you can be prosecuted for copyright infringement if you use them

Pure evil, not nice at all!!!

[Ellen K]

When farmers buy the seed from Monsanto, they sign a legal document to say they won't save and replant.  But like Monsanto, they are in business to make money, see the chance of extra profit and presumably think it is worth the risk.

But all companies will defend their IP rights particularly in the US where these things are pursued vigorously.  Possibly Walt Disney has the highest profile amongst companies doing this, have a look at Tabberone's website.

[lincsyokel2]

and ofc the danger is that weeds will acquire the gene that makes them resistant to Roundup, and then you have a superweed that cant be killed except by hand weeding. For farmers, that would be the doomsday scenario, hand weeding anything is  the nuclear option, financially, but theres evidence it might have already happened and superweeds have already been created.

It was a seriously bad line to pursue, and not in our long term interests, just for one companies short term  profit.

Can you imagine mares tails or nettles resistant to weedkillers? They would become almost impossible to eradicate.

[Melbourne12]

....

Can you imagine mares tails or nettles resistant to weedkillers? They would become almost impossible to eradicate.

Ermmm, hang on.  I thought the "oooh, I'm frightened of nasty chemicals" argument was that it was better in every conceivable respect to dig weeds out rather than treat them with weedkillers.

Surely you should be delighted at the emergence of "superweeds"?  Then people like me would have no option but to dig 'em out.  Perhaps if we were VERY good children, we'd be allowed to cut them down first and wear gloves.  But anyone who mentioned the good old days would be made to pull nettles with his bare hands.

[Ellen K]

er... weeds haven't acquired any genes from GM soya.  Rather, in a few cases, there has been a natural selection process going on favouring weeds with some level of resistance to increase overall resistance in the population.  But not by very much.

[BarriedaleNick]

er... weeds haven't acquired any genes from GM soya.  Rather, in a few cases, there has been a natural selection process going on favouring weeds with some level of resistance to increase overall resistance in the population.  But not by very much.

While what you say is mostly true in that natural selection due to excessive use of Roundup has led to resistance in weeds - I would take a small issue with the scale of the problem.  Sure in the UK there is not much with which to be presently concerned but the story is slightly different in the US where Roundup use is "ubiquitous".

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/business/energy-environment/04weed.html
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/magazine/winter09/cotton.html
http://allenpress.com/pdf/wees/WEES_57.4_435_441.pdf
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1614/WS-07-053.1

The problem is that fields filled with crops with the roundup ready gene tend to get sprayed with roundup!!  Year after year and year - which can and does lead to resistance and the subsequent issues.
None of which has much to do with using a bit of Roundup down the plot but natural selection will have its way in much the same way as it has with antibiotics, given enough time.
Personally I'm happy to use a bit of weedkiller on the plot every now and then but I try to keep it minimal and most years I dont have the need to do so.  I like digging so it's no bother to me!

[Ellen K]

Well, I'll just say one more word then sign off.

Monoculture.

 :(