Herbicides

Mike Rummerfield mikerumm@gmail.com
Fri, 31 Jan 2020 14:20:13 PST
If, as you say, " it's important to look at the details wherein is
contained the devil and you clearly cannot obtain accurate facts from
"like-minded individuals" on social media", then it seems that all the
research you've done and presented is from "like-minded individuals", and
industry sponsored and published papers.  It only takes a cursory search to
find the refutation of your arguments for the 'safety' of herbicides, and
glyphosate in particular.  You could start with non Hodgkins lymphoma/Mayo
clinic; plus the multitude of lawsuits involving individuals with non
Hodgkins lymphoma and Bayer, the current owner of Roundup;  Agent
Orange/Vietnam veterans;  lawsuits won in court resulting in Monsanto
having to withdraw their claim that glysophate binds with soil particles,
making it benign; The World Health Organization/glyphosate;
California/glyphosate; glyphosate resistant Superweeds (although I suppose
you could argue for Superhippeastrums) ; the list goes on and on
and.....................

The "organic chemicals" you refer to are organic in the sense that they
contain carbon and hydrogen in their makeup  (most organic compounds
contain at least one carbon–hydrogen bond, hence the name hydrocarbon).
This misleading argument has for many years fed into the confusion over,
and the difference between, organic chemistry and organic standards
regarding food production and the environment.   Though they share the word
'organic', they are completely different subjects, though obviously
intertwined.

You say, "Glyphosate, for one is the 800 pound gorilla because it is so
safe and useful".  What is this statement based on?  Is glyphosate useful?
Yes (if you are willing to ignore the downsides).  Is it effective at
killing some weeds?  Yes.  Is it convenient and easy to use?  Yes, very.
Is it safe? * No *(see above).  "There are approximately 280 million pounds
of glyphosate applied to 298 million acres annually in agricultural
settings (MRD, 2012-2016).Apr 18, 2019"  This is *per year*.
Follow the money.

All the rationalizations for the continued use of herbicides do not make it
safe.

Denial and diversion have not proven to be effective strategies in matters
of life.

Don, I think the relevant issue here is not whether Hippeastrum is
resistant to glyphosate (Roundup) or not.  It is whether glyphosate is safe
to use or not - not just safe for the Hippeastrum, but safe for other
living things, including us.
All areas of the world have their own set of weeds that are difficult to
control.  Yours are bermuda grass and nut sedge.   In my area, two of them
are quack grass and canary grass, and I detest them; there are others.
Just try arguing with our ubiquitous Himalayan blackberry - you quickly
become a torn, shredded, bloody mess.  There are other strategies to
dealing with these pests other than the application of glyphosate, though
they may be less convenient and easy.

I guess this all comes down to priorities - the short term convenience and
ease of use vs. the longer term promotion of life.

Most sincerely,
Mike






On Fri, Jan 31, 2020 at 6:28 AM Tim Eck <timeck17582@gmail.com> wrote:

> Erick,
> Thanks for the very useful information.
> I realize there are many prejudices against the many organic chemicals that
> organic growers avoid and with some merit, but often misplaced blame.
> Glyphosate, for one is the 800 pound gorilla because it is so safe and
> useful, just like we blame Walmart for everything because it is so
> successful.  It may be associated with colony collapse disorder (but not a
> cause)for the simple reason that Monsanto likes to implant at least three
> functional genes when they create a transgenic seed and one of them is
> usually Bt, a "natural" insecticide from Bacillus thuringiensis.  The
> assumption was that corn was wind pollinated and would not harm
> pollinators, but it has been demonstrated that bees will use grass pollen
> for a protein source as needed.  In this case, glyphosate use is associated
> with the harmful factor but not the cause.
> Glyphosate itself appears to be less toxic than table salt (according to
> the LD50) and is captured by polar components in soil and slowly degraded
> by soil bacteria so it has no noticeable activity in most soils.  Potting
> soils may behave differently.  You can buy detergent-free glyphosates
> certified for use in waterways that will not harm amphibians or
> invertebrates.  No SCIENTIFIC studies have shown any linkage of glyphosate
> to cancer.
> RoundUp is a trade name that may contain other active ingredients besides
> glyphosate, especially when modified such as RoundUp Plus which contains a
> pre-emergent herbicide too.
> My earliest memories were of growing up on an organic farm in the early
> 50's so I don't defend chemical agriculture without reservations but it's
> important to look at the details wherein is contained the devil and you
> clearly cannot obtain accurate facts from "like-minded individuals" on
> social media.
> End of rant,
> Tim
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 30, 2020 at 10:15 PM erick lux <ericklux@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I've used the brands Snapshot, Amaze and Surflan at different times at
> the
> > recommended rate with no problem on a huge variety of amaryllis.
> >
> > On Fri, Jan 24, 2020 at 1:37 PM Tim Eck <timeck17582@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Can anybody suggest a good pre-emergent herbicide that is safe to use
> on
> > > amaryllids?  I've never used a pre-emergent but some people swear by
> > them.
> > >
> > > Also, are dicot (broadleaf) herbicides like dicamba safe for
> amaryllids?
> > > I've never gotten anybody to admit it even though they tell me they're
> > > ineffective on amaryllids.
> > > Thanks,
> > > Tim
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