Resistant superweeds in the USA

Rapid spread of herbicide-resistant weeds in the USA

02/06/2013

In the US, the spread of weeds that are resistant to herbicides (herbicides) has increased significantly. According to the US market research institute Stratus Agri-Marketing, farmers are literally facing a growing problem. You will need to partially remove the resistant weeds by hand. Also, genetically modified plants, which in turn are resistant to the herbicides, are increasingly losing their original hoped-for benefits. Because the weeds can no longer be destroyed with the herbicides, the farmers can save their use and therefore do not need any crops that are resistant to the herbicides.

According to Stratus Agri-Marketing in the USA, the herbicides-resistant weeds have massively expanded over the past year. The of the „Super weeds“ overgrown area increased in 2012 by 51 percent. Almost half (49%) of the 3,000 farmers interviewed reported problems, while in 2011 the share of affected farmers was still 34%. The superweeds in the south are especially widespread. In Georgia, for example, 92 percent of farmers are struggling with resistant weeds. According to a report by Stratus Agri-Marketing in 2012, more than 24 million hectares of arable land were overgrown with weeds that were resistant to at least one herbicide. In 2011, this affected 16 million hectares. In addition, two or more resistant superweeds have already been detected on 27 percent of the farms, while two years ago, only 12 percent of the farms were affected.

Genetic engineering plants without benefit
The large-scale cultivation of GM crops in monocultures, which has been practiced in the USA for almost twenty years, is loosing its current economic benefits as its advocates anticipate. Although the specially developed genetic engineering plants continue to be resistant to pesticides, the latter can be used generously without jeopardizing the harvest. But weeds are also increasingly resisting herbicides. As a result, farmers can no longer harvest parts of their crops and face significant cost increases for the elimination of resistant weeds.

Pesticide use increased significantly
Studies indicate that farmers have significantly increased the use of weedkillers since the introduction of resistant GM crops. Whether there is a connection here with the increasing spread of herbicide-resistant super-weeds, is so far unclear. However, the increase in pesticide use since the introduction of the genetic engineering plants is proven. So showed a late September in the journal „Environmental Sciences Europe“ Washington State University has published a study that has increased the use of pesticides by seven percent in the US since the first cultivation of genetically modified crops. Finally, the cultivation of herbicide-resistant crops that can withstand the use of chemicals such as roundup (glyphosate) of the Monsanto Group, led to an increase in spray consumption by 239 million kilograms between 1996 and 2011, reported the US researchers.

Health risk due to increasing use of pesticides
The scientists also fear a further increase in the use of pesticides, because the super weeds - true to the previous logic - will proceed with even more toxic older means. Also, the companies are already in the process of developing genetic engineering plants that are resistant to these older toxins such as 2,4-D. It's a worthwhile business for companies like Monsanto, which are both producers of weedkillers and patents for GM crops that are resistant to their compounds. But for farmers, this practice is a significant financial burden and a health risk for the population as a whole. Because the entry of appropriate toxins in our environment increases dramatically. In this regard, researchers from the National Cancer Institute of the USA have recently pointed to the cancer risk of weedkillers such as glyphosate and 2,4-D. (Fp)

Picture: Uschi Dreiucker