Cotton farmers: Roundup resistant weeds grow in drought
Monsanto corporation, owner of the glycophosphate broad-spectrum herbicide branded as "Roundup," continues to conduct research into ways to defeat common weeds, most recently to the detriment of tried-and-true methods of farming.
The company has come under harsh criticism from farmers, scientists and activists alike for their development of a "killer" seed that, when exposed to an antibiotic, automatically destroys the seed's ability to germinate when planted.
For thousands of years, farmers have saved seeds from one crop to plant their next. However, Monsanto wants to put a stop to that cost-effective practice by forcing farmers to purchase seeds from Monsanto.
To prevent farmers from saving seeds, Monsanto developed the "killer" seed.
Most recently, Monsanto developers have discovered a frightening prospect that may force many farmers out of business, or at best, significantly drive up the price of cotton and devastate the land.
After Monsanto's 1990-era development of "BT cotton," a type of seed resistant to glycophosphate poisons which also has it's own natural pest defenses, farmers were able to reduce costs associated with applying various poisons for weed control.
However, through natural selection processes, a "Roundup" resistant weed named Palmer amaranth, a type of pig weed that grows 6 to 10 feet tall, and an inch a day even in drought, has been found proliferating in Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Arkansas.
Alan York, a weed scientist at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, said the pigweed "Is potentially the worse threat since the boll weevil."
University of Georgia weed scientist Stanley Culpepper said some farmers in Georgia had to cut down their cotton, rather than harvest it, because pigweed took over the cotton and damages the harvester machines.
Because the weed is resistant to the glycophosphate poison, farmers may need to return to the tillage methods of weed control, which seriously disturbs the soil condition, and alters the delicate balance that keeps the soil from eroding and decreases soil moisture content.
Original Post