Is this a lesson in how to grow superweeds which outgrow our food crops?
Lessons in how to grow superweeds which outgrow our food crops.
In the UK we have a long history of permanent agricultural weeds. This history of agriculture and our methods of agriculture mean we have, in effect, selectively bred, for persistent weeds. Man has evolved within his landscape, he has altered that natural landscape with his agricultural methods. Natural selection has favoured what have now become persistent weeds such as creeping thistle, couch grass, nettles etc.
Individual species have evolved due to our agricultural methods, so if, for example, we look at dandelion growth patterns we can see this demonstrated. Dandelions can grow flat to the ground so they can no longer be mown off. They will grow up-right, vertical and tall until they are mown a few times, then they take on the new flat form so they pass under the mower or the scythe.
Human attempts at eradication of these persistent weeds has actually led to their ‘improvement’ and made the situation worse; we have effectively selectively bred them. The difficulty is now in restoring the natural balance, so that they no longer have the competitive advantage. This is what Richard Dawkins would call an ‘arms race’. It is escalating therefore both sides need to invest in order to retain the status-quo. From a human perspective this means even greater use of herbicides and fuel energy/human labour for ploughing etc. From our point of view (humans) this is counter productive. However, it is good for these persistent agricultural weeds as it is putting them at a competitive advantage over their compatriots. Persistent weeds have increasingly quicker recovery rates, they have persistence of propagation methods. If you leave in a small section of a root such as creeping thistle or couch grass, a new plant is able to regrow from that tiny section exceptionally quickly. It quickly outgrows all my vegetable plants.
It appears from the quote below, the problem is wide spread:
‘Then in the 1990s came Roundup Ready cotton, corn and soybeans, which meant machines could go through growing fields with heavy chemical applications of Roundup®, the Monsanto patented herbicide.
But weeds have been getting smarter. The wimpy little ones like poke, ragweed or milk thistle have retired from the field, leaving hardier cousins to stand and fight. One of the hardy pigweeds, Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri), has been making a name for itself in South Georgia, because it has evolved resistance to glyphostate, Roundup’s active ingredient. Agronomists say the overuse of glyphostate herbicides is to blame for the amaranth explosion. The plant had already evolved resistances to dinitroanilines and acetolactate synthase inhibitors, and farmers that kept using Roundup year after year, regardless of the warnings, had their fields completely taken over when Roundup Ready Amaranth appeared.
Palmer amaranth can grow as tall as 15 feet, although 6 feet is more common. Climate change is its best friend. It can continue to grow an inch a day even without water all summer, even when daily temperature tops 90°F (32°C). Its flowering tops put out half a million seeds per plant. One successful amaranth plant can seed an entire field for the following season. Full grown, the new superweed eats cotton picking machinery and spits out the metal parts.
Some Georgia farmers have been forced into bankruptcy and abandoned their farms. The new strain is spreading in every direction and has farmers and extension agents worried from South Carolina to West Texas. Even Monsanto has no recommended solution. But then, Monsanto doesn’t sell hoes’
The Happiness Plant
re-published from The Permaculture Activist 70:44-46 (Winter 2008-09).
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Tagged with: History Of Agriculture • Propagation Methods • Superweeds
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Superweed?
Sounds intriguing!
A right point is made albeit from a wrong angle.. The green revolution involving the breeding of High Yielding entries primarily in food crops, followed by commercial crops, was lauded as a boon at a time when people feared the impact of population explosion vis a vis a static agrl production..
But the HY varieties so evolved had to be fed well with concentrates (chemical fertilizers) just like we feed concentrate feed to the superior breeds of animals and birds to boost their production.. In fact they are called high yielders by virtue of their capacity to convert the chemical nutrients into food.. The world was thus saved from an impending famine by these hitechs..
But the use of fertilizers etc also made the other non target fauna to get strong and breed more intensively.. thus necessitating the herbicide intervention (as in those days the chemicals were the ready solution to all problematic issues - from control of malaria thru DDT spray to kill the vector mosquito.. use of antibiotics against the bacterial infections in humans, evolution of nylons, plastics so on and so forth to serve our expanding utilities..
So the effort was least to invite any problem like the production of super weeds as suggested in your title but the right intentions to solve more pressing human issues thru chemical techniques that seemed to offer the solutions.. But the unexpected fall outs thereof have been infinite such as the production of super weeds, resistant pests, new bacterial and fungal races causing more complex diseases in the flora and fauna of this planet..
So instead of finding faults on the scientific methods, in view of the fact that the scientists themselves have become aware of the risks of chemical methods and started exploring more natural alternatives - like use of bio fertilizers, bio control agents to control pests etc.. - we should all unite to meet the emerging challenges of this kind.. in the faith that Nature that had offered us infinite variety of solutions in the past would not fail to guide us to hit upon suitable solutions to contemporary issues as well..
Was not Opuntia introduced (in India by the British) originally as a hedge became a menace and was controlled with a mealy bug rather than thru chemicals ?
Chrysanthemum spp was found to control the nematodes that infested the Crosandra plants which had to be controlled earlier with costly pesticide granules.. As farmers learnt to grow a crop of Chrysanthemum after the Crosandra to clean the soil of the pathological nematodes, the problem was solved without any chemical..!
Lots of examples could be cited but I stop here and just emphasise that we can hit upon proper ways to manage the noxious fauna thru minor / non chemical alterations in the eco system, that easily fit into the natural ambience..
Here in the U.S. we are hard- headed. We imported Kudzu, tried to eradicate kudzu because it takes over people’s lawns but it has survived by adapting to every method we yanks have tried. Yes these are lessons we should learn. It’s better to work with nature and the land instead of trying to subdue and change it.
good points. yes, arms race sums it up.
a silver lining; many ‘weeds’ are medicinal plants originally allowed to live on the margins for that reason, or can be eaten themselves (i understand the kudzu mentioned in previous answer is edible, and japanese knotweed which we have in uk definitely is).
here in Calif, we have the California thistle.
oh my, or is it Scotch thistle? i think so.
the first time i ever saw one was 10 years ago.
today, there are fields full of them.
superman would be proud. (darn, where’s the kryptonite when we need it?)