Organic News
Bitter harvest
Back gardeners and allotment holders in the UK are still coming to terms with crop failures this season due to the use of brought in farmyard manure containing residue of an herbicide called aminopyralid.
The weedkiller is a hormone-based herbicide manufactured by Dow Chemicals that first came onto the market in 2005 and is used to control docks, thistles and nettles in pasture without harming the grass itself.
The herbicide binds strongly to a woody material called lignin, which is present in the cell walls of grass and other plants and gives them their structure. Lignin is not decomposed in the digestion process and it decays only when the manure breaks down in the soil. When it does eventually decay, the aminopyralid attached to it is released and any susceptible plants in the allotment or garden can be affected.
Gardeners are shocked that a weedkiller sprayed onto land over a year previously, and digested by cattle whose manure was subsequently composted, could still be so toxic. Crops such as tomatoes, potatoes and beans grown in the manure either died or were grossly deformed. Gardeners have been advised not to use contaminated ground for at least a year.
Following widespread publicity and pressure from gardening organisations, the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) began an investigation and the product was subsequently banned pending further investigation but growers are concerned that it may be reintroduced to the market under another brand name. There have been calls for better regulation of chemicals and many gardeners fear that further batches of contaminated manure may be used unknowingly.
Gillian Westbrook has been appointed to the new position of
General Manager with IOFGA. Coming from a background in the regulatory area...
