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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Rene and Lorraine van Raders" <rvraders@tpgi.com.au>
  • To: "pc discussion group" <permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: roundup
  • Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 16:57:35 -0800

ALTERNATIVES TO "ROUNDUP"

Last week I participated in a maintenance day at Pelican Point, on the
shores of Lake
Tinaroo, on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland. This is a
great
community project consisting of revegetation plantings by several
different tree
planting groups and now maintained by various community groups.

The Sustainable Living Club FNQ (the local organic growers/permaculture
group)
plot at Pelican Point is a clear example that alternatives to roundup
work. Even more
importantly they can be LESS EXPENSIVE and require LESS WORK!!!! Our
plot
has been maintained with no costs for herbicides and with considerably
less labour (a
visit of about 4 people for 30 minutes every 6 months or so). The last
visit took less
than 10 minutes for 3 people! The "Roundup" fans were there for hours.

We were told that painting with poison has been found to be the only way
to kill
glycine (a vigorous climbing pasture legume)... but for us, killing
glycine hasn't been
the point. Our aim is to encourage tree growth and wildlife. In our
plot we have only
ever cut the glycine vines at the base... a very simple job with most
tools (a small
sickle was ideal). No pulling glycine from the trees, no buying of
poisons or brushes,
no making little poison pots, no painting of poison, no cleaning up
afterwards. Just a
leisurely stroll through the plot with the minimum of work. The results
speak for
themselves already... I won't say our trees are better but they are
certainly as well
grown as those in the other (poisoned) plots.

In avoiding poisons of any description we have not threatened Melomys
(a local
mammal) or nesting birds, depressed soil micro-life, killed insects, nor
made the grass
and glycine unpalatable/unsafe (or dead) for anything in the ecosystem.
The glycine
is still very much alive in our plot (as it is a fairly widely spaced
forestry planting),
but it is generally prevented from climbing the trees by the browsing of
the
wallabies!!!! It provides an excellent forage for them (high in
protein). They in turn
are fertilising our trees!!!

Round-up is a poison which is marketed as being harmless to everything
but that
which is being poisoned. However there is much conflicting literature
on it's residual
effects, and it has been linked to leukaemia in dogs (children are at
the same height as
dogs!) Round-up kills plants, insects, soil bacteria, frogs etc - if
people could see the
death toll that was being incurred - would they too be looking for
alternatives? Surely
we could be encouraging life and diversity, rather than killing it.

(Interesting to note.. I don't think frog friendly formula was used.
Yet frogs don't just
live in water... they love forest habitats. Another point relates to
human safety on the
day... lots of bare skin... it didn't seem to me that safety directions
on the poison drum
were followed. Round-up is nasty stuff (not lolly water) and can cause
reactions if
accidentally splashed on skin or eyes, let alone if swallowed.) It
seems many people
are quite blase in using it - reminding me somehow of the film clips
showing
indiscriminate use of DDT on food and children, not so many years ago.)

In a more general vein, looking at alternatives to the use of
herbicides... let me say the
first thing to consider is our attitude. There are always many ways to
do something!!!

Consider doing nothing, or the bare minimum. For instance, in a tree
planting, rather
than always assuming all other plant growth must be killed, consider
allowing the
natural groundcovers to flourish. This might mean accepting a slower
growth and
canopy closure and more tree fatalities, yet allows for better soil
protection, the
retention of wildlife habitat during tree growth, soil improvement by
the biological
activity of plants and microbes, and much less labour and other direct
costs. Looking
for species that can tolerate the prevailing conditions (competition
from grasses,
glycine or lantana for instance) is a good first step to overcoming some
of the
percieved negatives.

Some weeds that are sprayed in revegetation plantings don't seem to
actually have a
great competitive effect - is the nice clean look so important??

Often killing of competitive weeds isn't necessary..merely offsetting
the balance in
favour of your chosen species will suffice. Thus techniques chosen
don't have to be
terribly effective at actually destroying a particular plant.

A few other organic methods to consider are cultivation, hand removal of
worst
offenders (this can be extremely effective in some circumstances...
refer "Bringing
Back the Bush -The Bradley Method of Bush Regeneration", by Joan
Bradley), flame
or steam weeding, pressing boards, rolling, mulching, slashing, paving,
fire,
establishment of groundcovers, altering soil conditions (with
fertilisers or mechanical
equipment), shading (cover crops) and the use of livestock.

Flame weeding uses a gas torch to superheat plant leaves (it doesn't
burn them). This
equipment is becoming more and more popular on larger organic
properties.

Pressing boards are used in some Third World countries on steeper land..
to lay flat
tall tropical grasses.. starting them self mulching and allowing light
penetration to
young trees (See PIJ No 37, page 34). On gentler country a roller can
be used for the
same effect.

With mulching don't just think straw mulch... but remember that our
dumps are
overflowing with discarded organic waste (tree lopings, cardboard,
newspaper, crop
residues, sawdust); bonfires of fallen trees are still a common site on
many larger
properties!!! Inorganic mulches might also be ok.... black plastic can
be used to
'encase and bake' particularly virulent weeds - (for a short time);
bitumen has been
used successfully to stabilise road edges with grass finally growing
through it.

Different circumstances will suit different techniques, but one I'd
love to experiment
with is the use of livestock. Already agroforestry systems are common
that
incorporate cattle with more mature trees. As with the above mentioned
wallabies,
livestock can save much work and also provide an extra yield (in the
case of Pelican
Point the wallaby is one of the main yields sought!!!). Consider
spending additional
time and effort on fencing to keep in pigs, or chickens... which would
be able to keep
large areas free from too much groundcover competition, add fertiliser
(recycle
nutrients) and provide an economic return. Fine-tuned livestock systems
offer great
rewards in terms of yield, cost and minimal work.

The marketing for herbicides has been extremely successful, and the
product appears
to give a quick fix (if we don't think too deeply about it). It is
extremely fashionable
in the tropics (especially for revegetation work) and perhaps there are
times when the
long-term good outweighs the initial damage. However, I would like to
think that we,
as environmental carers THINK TWICE about the way we are spending our
energy
and money. Do we want to support a multi-million dollar multi-national
company
producing poisons whose long term effects on the environment are still
not fully
understood?






  • roundup, Rene and Lorraine van Raders, 11/13/1998

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