Glyphosate-what you need to know

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Why Glyphosate Should Be Banned

[Rich2484]

Always amazes me at how long it takes for people to relise these facts.

 

Wounder what new and shiny chemical they will come out with that will be so much better than glyphosate. Then in so many years time that one will be doing the same thing...

 

It's a good read. Thank you tony.

[likeitorlumpit]

Epidemiological evidence suggested glyphosate exposure increased the risk of developing non Hodgkinsons Lymphoma.

Gulp!

That's me.

Got to digest this more.

[skyhuck]

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/49135-glyphosate-very-serious-heads-up.html

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Why Glyphosate Should Be Banned

 

5.3 Effects on soil ecology

 

Soil fertility is fundamental in maintaining plant health and yields. However, along with the rise in industrial agrochemical farming practices, there has been a general increase in the number of plant diseases in the past 15 to 18 years.

 

Glyphosate has been shown to stimulate the growth of fungi and increase the virulence of soil pathogens such as Xylella fastidiosa which causes citrus variegated chlorosis, while also decreasing the presence of beneficial soil organisms [90] Scientists Reveal Glyphosate Poisons Crops and Soil (SiS47). Four primary soil fungi, Fusarium, Phythium, Rhizoccccctonia, and Phytophthora, have become more active with the use of glyphosate; and concomitantly diseases caused by these fungi have increased, such as head scab in corn, or root rot in soybeans, crown rot in sugar beets. Fusarium head blight, which affects cereal crops, is a disease that produces a mycotoxin that could enter the food chain.

 

Beneficial micro- and macro-organisms damaged by glyphosate include earthworms, microbes producing indole-acetic acid (a growth-promoting auxin), mycorrhizae associations, phosphorus & zinc uptake, microbes such as Pseudomonads and Bacillus that convert insoluble soil oxides to plant-available forms of manganese and iron, nitrogen-fixing bacteria Bradyrhizobium, Rhizobium, and organisms involved in the biological control of soil-borne diseases that reduce root uptake of nutrients (see [90, 13] (see Figure 6).

 

In addition to soil microorganisms, Roundup® but not glyphosate alone, kills three beneficial food microrganisms (Geotrichum candidum, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus) widely used as starter cultures in the dairy industry [91]. This may explain the loss of microbiodiversity in raw milk observed in recent years.

 

Figure 6 Interactions of glyphosate with plant and soil biology; adapted from Huber’s presentation [14]

 

It has been assumed that glyphosate is short-lived, degrading in two weeks, and has low accumulation and drift. However, this conventional view may only be applicable, if at all, in certain environments. Studies in northern regions of the globe have demonstrated that glyphosate and its main metabolite AMPA can remain in the soil even years after the last spraying [92]. That means the herbicide and its residues can remain active and accumulate in soils with increasingly devastating effects on soil ecology.

 

5.4 Effects on ecosystems

 

Glyphosate use impacts animal biodiversity and health either directly or indirectly through destruction of habitats. It is considered to be particularly toxic to aquatic and amphibian species, due to its high water solubility.

 

Amphibians are considered the most endangered animal class on Earth. Recent studies have highlighted glyphosate’s toxicity to frog species, with exposure killing 78 % of animals in laboratory conditions (see [93] Roundup Kills Frogs, SiS 26). A 2012 study found enlarged tails in exposed tadpoles, similar to the adaptive changes seen in response to the presence of predators. Tadpoles adapt their body shape to suit environmental conditions, so any changes not suited to the environment could put the animals at a distinct disadvantage [94]. Currently unpublished data from The Department of Herpetology at the Society of Sciences, Aranzad, Spain suggests that glyphosate concentrations below agricultural levels are sufficient to kill 10 species of amphibians in the Basque region of Spain [95]. As mentioned earlier, birth defects in frogs have also been detailed in laboratory conditions [15].

 

Studies in aquatic microcosms and mesocosms found that Roundup at 8 mg glyphosate/L inhibited the growth of green algae at the expense of toxic bloom-forming cyanobacteria, with potentially drastic impacts on freshwater aquatic ecosystems [96, 97]. It also accelerates the deterioration of water quality, which is already jeopardising global water supply [98] (World Water Supply in Jeopardy, SiS 56).

 

The indirect effect of habitat destruction is exemplified by the decline of Monarch butterfly numbers (see [99] Glyphosate and Monarch Butterfly Decline, SiS 52) (Figure 7). The larvae of this species feed almost exclusively on milkweed plants, which are being destroyed through glyphosate treatment of GM crops. In the Midwest of the US, there has been a 58 % decline in milkweed plants and a resulting 17-year decline in Monarch butterfly [100]. A decline in their winter migration to Mexico has been observed stretching back 15 years.

 

Figur

[andrew t]

Does anyone know any Eco ways of poisoning stumps as we use roundup at the moment and as tony has brought this to light I will not be using again . Cheers for the info tony.

[skyhuck]

Does anyone know any Eco ways of poisoning stumps as we use roundup at the moment and as tony has brought this to light I will not be using again . Cheers for the info tony.

 

Salt.

[andrew t]

Salt.

 

Ex osmosis !!!!

[MATTMOSS]

Eco Plugs

[Rich2484]

Stump grinder.