> For example, some herbicides have very little or no
> environmental impact, in certain conditions their impact
> may be less than the impact of measures for mechanical
> weed control.
This is an important point. Inputs need to be examined on a case-by-case
basis. It is unfair lump all herbicides together with agent orange and
pentachlorophenol and condemn them all as "biocides." Some of the
herbicides (and certain insecticides) appear to be quite well targeted and
efficient. These should be available to farmers as tools. It is possible
to do a lot more environmental damage with a plow than with most herbicides.
And one should not lump all farmers together and try to generalize about how
they can achieve environmentally responsible systems. There are situations,
for example, in which insertion of Roundup Ready beans or glufosinate
tolerant corn into a rotation can solve terrible weed problems, resulting in
a more sustainable and robust system.
Dale
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