Tree Damage From Crop Spraying
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Tony Waldron
ArboristSite Lurker
That was most likely
2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid
(also known as 2,4,5-T), a synthetic auxin, is a chlorophenoxy acetic acid herbicide used to defoliate broad-leafed plants. It was developed in the late 1940s and was widely used in the agricultural industry until being phased out, starting in the late 1970s due to toxicity concerns.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic_acid
Tony Waldron
ArboristSite Lurker
Bill G
Found some info that states that it was banned.
source; https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/DDT_FactSheet.html
Found some info that states that it was banned.
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) Factsheet
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is an insecticide used in agriculture. The United States banned the use of DDT in 1972.source; https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/DDT_FactSheet.html
Bill G
ArboristSite King
I have never disputed if it was or was not banned so not sure..................
Bill G
ArboristSite King
It is not hard to claim it though is it? As the oile expression goes "the proof is in the pudding"Kind of hard to follow/enforce the last three if there's undetected/unknown volatilization/drift coming for someone else's farm.
There is a HUGE difference in what can claim and what can prove. We had a bit of discussion the other day at work about that. A person can claim they saw a space alien (for you older folks remember the AS member "Space Mule") but can they prove that claim? The answer as far as I can see is NO
Now I am not one that does not believe in a lot of the claims of environmental damages caused by humans. I believe that has and continues to happen. It is WELL documented by real science. It is the "claims" that bother me.
I am far from immune to the "claims" myself though. I truly believe that living under or near high voltage transmission lines can increase your chances for brain cancer. Can I prove that, of course not?. Do I believe it, YES?
That was mixed with 2,4-D and delivered in orange barrels and widely used to kill vegetation in Vietnam making it more difficult for the North Vietnamese to hide in the jungle.
Many veterans are still paying a heavy price for that...
Bill G
ArboristSite King
AGENT ORANGE
Yes I agree 100% but with one single counterpoint that is not meant in ANY disrespect. The sad truth is it is in many times it is the families that are paying the price now. A good deal of those dedicated folks who started as boys and became MEN overnight are now departed. Many of which due to "Agent Orange" That is one of the MANY reasons I am so angered by those who disrespect the folks that allow us to live in the GREAT country we do.
I am not all that old but growing up I had folks around me that were WW 1, yes WW1 veterans. Now the honor flights are all young folks. WHICH IS GREAT I believe the last Korean Conflict vet I knew is now gone
No question about that!
Bill G
ArboristSite King
I will reply to a couple points you bring up. You say pull the weeds out by hand? Well yes that is an option but lets consider a few things. In your flowerbed that is GREAT but how about doing it in a 160 acre field? Now think about the person who is farming 5000 acres. Is this a real solution? Years ago when farming was still on a smaller scale we all cultivated the corn at least once sometimes twice and beans up to three times. A common question was "is your corn laid-by" That term referred to being done cultivating for the year because the corn was to tall. I can tell you the last time I cultivated corn was in May 1991 when my friend was murdered in what is now my pasture. I finished his as that is what he would have wanted.
Your other point of cover crops is something you should probably do a google search on. I can post some real pictures if you would like
Yes...cover crops are coming back into more common use. However, they are typically used to "keep the soil alive" during the off season then killed just before planting. They are often winter only plants. If they used clover, for example, for cover crops to keeps weeds down, it also would suppress the crops.
As for cultivating, that still happens sometimes too.
I do some tree work for an organic farmer. EVERY time I am out there, he is on his tractor - usually cultivating the field. That causes a LOT of extra compaction. That also burns a lot of extra fuel. Adds significantly to the labor costs.
Genetic resistance...yes, that happens. One in a billion plant isn't killed. That plant is pollinated. Maybe one of its offspring is resistant.
This has lead to the aforementioned GMO dicamba-resistant soybeans. Marestail has become resistant to glyphosate (RoundUp), so they went looking for other options. Dicamba does a great job on marestail...
As for cultivating, that still happens sometimes too.
I do some tree work for an organic farmer. EVERY time I am out there, he is on his tractor - usually cultivating the field. That causes a LOT of extra compaction. That also burns a lot of extra fuel. Adds significantly to the labor costs.
Genetic resistance...yes, that happens. One in a billion plant isn't killed. That plant is pollinated. Maybe one of its offspring is resistant.
This has lead to the aforementioned GMO dicamba-resistant soybeans. Marestail has become resistant to glyphosate (RoundUp), so they went looking for other options. Dicamba does a great job on marestail...
Bill G
ArboristSite King
I've been planting oats and winter wheat the last several years for cover crops. If planted early enough the oats get thick the die with the first hard freeze. It leaves a nice mat to keep weeds from germinating till I plow in the spring. It puts organic matter back in the soil and also scavenges any left over fertilizer. I usually bush hog the wheat off and then plow but this year I left it grow because of good wheat prices and will combine it in the next couple weeks. I do cultivate sweet corn but only in dry years to help release moisture. Other crops are cultivated only as needed to control weeds. I do use some herbicides to help prevent weeds from overtaking any of the crops.
Actually, if you look it up, that isn't really correct. What was banned was the registration, which means that the product was no longer available for sale.
"An end to the continued domestic usage of the pesticide was decreed on June 14, 1972, when William D. Ruckelshaus, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, issued an order finally cancelling nearly all remaining Federal registrations of DDT products. Public health, quarantine, and a few minor crop uses were excepted, as well as export of the material."
This is typically how the US government "bans" a product. They don't make it illegal to use, they just prohibit the manufacture and sale. If they straight up banned the use of a product, they would have to take possesion of all the sold products, they would have to pay for the legal disposal of banned products, and they would have to re-imburse the manufacturers and distributors for their un-sold products. And... They would have to confront the legal issue of prosecuting anyone that properly used the product according to the label.So! If you bought it legally, you can still use it.
Bill G
ArboristSite King
Your example is perfect
That is exactly what I was getting at as a "one size fits all " does not work. Sometimes you can get the cover crop in early enough for even winter grazing other times not. Sometimes you can get a good stand a wheat and during a rough heavy snow winter the deer can paw down through the snow and get something to eat. Other times not. Some springs are early and the cover crop comes alive. Other years are like this one and as late as I have ever seen. Some years the wheat or rye is good enough to chop for silage other years it is plowed down. Some years commodity prices are high enough to allow it to reach maturity. There is no ONE SIZE fits all solution. It sickens me when folks talk about "why do farmers do this and not that" Of course they may be posting the question out of genuine interest but most of the time it is posted as a criticism and a slam when they really have no idea what they are talking about. Just taking a few minutes to ask honest folks honest questions with honest interest gets you further
Bill G
ArboristSite King
Excellent post!
The federal or state governments are not out hunting down folks who possess chemicals that were banned for sale. No one is coming after my whiskey jug of brush killer. On the other hand they are out hunting down those that are banned for possession and have in the past, Prohibition?????????? Currently there are some chemicals that are legal is sell, legal to possess, but illegal to have in your possession in combination
Bill G
ArboristSite King
pdqdl.
On a completely unrelated sidenote (which is what happens many times) I am wondering about the picture in your avatar. If that is what I think it is then that is a rare catch although the greenery around it suggests I am wrong. Also the paws indicate I maybe wrong
On a completely unrelated sidenote (which is what happens many times) I am wondering about the picture in your avatar. If that is what I think it is then that is a rare catch although the greenery around it suggests I am wrong. Also the paws indicate I maybe wrong
Nice dog.
Bill G
ArboristSite King
He is my true buddy. Sleeping at my feet as I type trying to tell me it is time to go to bed. He was a "rescue: that spent a portion of his life on the street then shipped from one no kill shelter to another. I had been searching long and far for a new companion after losing the last one along with my beloved wife leaving with the other. That doggie is also now in heaven.Nice dog.
Completely unrelated and off topic but in my search for a new companion doggie I learned a lot about SOME so called rescue groups. Wow the sham SOME play
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