Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/11/24/science.wheat.reut/index.html
>
> Just in case you didn't hear about this...

"What this gene does is it uses better what is in the plant already, 
so rather than leave the protein and the zinc and iron in the straw, 
we've moved a little bit more into the grain," Dubcovsky said.

I don't have a problem with crossbreeding domestic with wild plants. 
I do have a problem understanding the mineral flow. This "scientific" 
system might work for couple years but if the zinc and iron in the 
ground are not replenished then the straw will become deficient in 
those minerals and will become weaker and less and less will move 
into the grain.

If it isn't in the soil, it cannot get into the straw or the grain.

Other than sun, rain and air, a plant is composed of what is in the 
ground. When micronutrients are taken up they must be replaced. It 
would take miraculously rapid mineral decay to provide new supplies 
of micronutrients without human additions. Why dump micronutrients 
into the ground so that the plant can move them into grain when a 
multi-vitamin taken daily is more dependable?