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Fields that once grew profitable durum no longer do so because of fusarium, leaving some to speculate that prairie durum may go the way of the dinosaur. Story here.
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1 comment:
Four years ago, I wrote an article for the Journal, Alternatives (& my blog, "Planet In Peril"), entitled "Field of Nightmares. Ottawa Continues to Embrace the Widespread Use of Roundup on Canadian Farms by Letting Corporate Seduction Trump Scientific Evidence."
http://www.planetinperil.ca/2012/09/field-of-nightmares.html
Here's part of it: "Extensive research by Agriculture Canada, published in 2009, showed that glyphosate was the most significant agronomic factor in incidences of fusarium head blight (FHB) and common root rot (CRR) in wheat and barley crops. Both FHB and CRR are considered serious cereal crop diseases in places like eastern Saskatchewan (where the trials were conducted). Fusarium toxins have been known to cause livestock to vomit and refuse food, and their fungi create more severe diseases for other crops. While tillage practices were also a contributing factor, the research concludes that 'previous glyphosate use was consistently associated with higher FHB levels' and 'significantly increased' the risk of plant diseases."
A few days ago, the farm newspaper, the Western Producer, published a story with the headline "Durum Acres on the Canadian Prairies Fall Prey to Fusarium - Fields that once grew profitable durum no longer do so because of fusarium, leaving some to speculate that prairie durum may go the way of the dodo bird and the dinosaur."
http://www.producer.com/…/utm_source=Western+Producer&utm_c…
Not surprisingly, the paper makes no mention of the Roundup-fusarium connection. I say not surprisingly because it has long been evident that their coverage is often coloured by the fact they are mega-advertisers for the agri-chemical companies which make products like Roundup.
And policy-makers in government and industry seem not to care about science - just about market forces and profits for the "mega-corps." Meanwhile, chemical farming carries on its merry way.
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