| Nebraska farmer Jeremy Leech is happy to be harvesting his corn this year. In 2011 he spent around $7,500 on herbicides that completely failed to stem the weeds strangling his crops. To overcome the problem of resistance, Dow Agrosciences are now seeking a licence to plant a new type of GM that has resistance to Roundup, and another older chemical called 2,4-D. 2,4-D is best known as a component of Agent Orange, a defoliant sprayed extensively during the Vietnam war. But farmers like Jeremy Leech are worried that if the new GM is overused, weeds might well become resistant to it as well. I think 2,4-D will work fine but I'm afraid, nervous, of what's going to happen, four or five years down the road now if we keep using 2,4-D like we're going to have the same problem we are now with Roundup. Dow are likely to get the go-ahead to plant the new GM next spring. But, surprisingly, the company stresses that chemicals alone won't beat the weeds. As well as sprays, they say, growers now need to incorporate older weed control techniques often used by organic farmers. |
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