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market-farming - Re: No-till method research?

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  • From: "Jill Taylor Bussiere" <jdt AT itol.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: No-till method research?
  • Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 07:55:13 -0600


>In spite of a very slight increase of Round Up, earthworms increased
dramatically & soil compaction >became much less of a problem, especially
after 3 years. Liz

Liz,
Thanks for the feedback. I am glad to hear that there is improvement in
the soil earthworm/wise, because that seems to be the most advocated
sustainable method in the "conventional" farming school. I can imagine that
using Roundup with no-till is better than using Roundup and tilling. The
best way to use no-till, of course, would be the way that the folks have
been explaining on this list. I was making assumptions about the soil from
what I know about Roundup and its effects, which are:


*Its widespread use has resulted in plants resistant to glyphosate.
Goosegrass, a major world-wide weed, and ryegrass are two of them.

*The surfactants used in Roundup and other glyphosate products are toxic to
aquatic animals as well as humans. It is only the Biactive formula that
does not carry an aquatic caution - and as mentioned before, that formula is
hard to get, especially for gardeners. The toads living in my garden are at
risk, as well as frogs.

*A study in New Zealand found that glyphosate affects earthworms; it was
found to reduce growth and increase mortality.

*Glyphosate is toxic to beneficial mycorrhiza fungi, which help plants take
up nutrients from the soil.

*Glyphosate is toxic to beneficial arthropods - predatory mites and
parasitoids, organisms that consume the insects that eat crops.

*Contrary to the claim that Roundup breaks down in to harmless substances,
it has been found to be extremely persistent, with residue absorbed by
subsequent crops. Glyphosate residues have been found in strawberries
(Cessna & Cain, 1992), lettuce, carrots, barley (U.S. EPA, 1993) when
planted a year after the last application.

Jill






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