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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A fast-spreading plague of "super weeds" taking overU.S. farmland will not be stopped easily, and farmers andgovernment officials need to change existing practices if foodproduction is to be protected, industry experts said on Thursday. "This is a complex problem," said weed scientist David Shaw inremarks to a national "summit" of weed experts in Washington tocome up with a plan to battle weeds that have developed resistanceto herbicides. Weed resistance has spread to more than 12 million U.S. acres andprimarily afflicts key agricultural areas in the U.S. Southeast andthe corn and soybean growing areas of the Midwest. Many of the worst weeds, some of which grow more than six feet andcan sharply reduce crop yields, have become resistant to thepopular glyphosate-based weed-killer Roundup, as well as othercommon herbicides. Monsanto Co's Roundup worked well for many years. It becameprevalent with the commercialization of "Roundup Ready" cropsMonsanto developed to tolerate the weedkiller, making it easy forfarmers to treat their fields. But now super weeds have developed a resistance to Roundup, andfarmers are scrambling to figure out how to combat their weeds. "We don't have that next technology. We have to get back to thefundamentals," said Shaw, who chairs a task force that is workingwith the U.S. Department of Agriculture on how to tackle weedresistance problems. Several farmers spoke out about their struggles at the summit, asdid experts from the USDA and crop consultants. "This is our number one issue," said Arkansas crop consultant ChuckFarr. "It is a challenge every day, every field." Harold Coble, an agromist and weed scientist with the USDA, calledthe problem of weed resistance a "game changer" and said farmersmust become more versatile. Too many have simply been relying onthe chemicals for too long, he said. A joint report from the USDA and the Weed Science Society ofAmerica said "a significant proportion of growers are notpracticing adequate proactive herbicide resistance management."Such "indiscriminate" use of herbicides is effectively making theproblem worse, year after year. It will be at least 20 years before any new chemical modes ofaction are available in the market for farmers to fight weeds with,said Coble. Many weed experts recommended at least a partial return to limitedtillage, which is largely frowned upon because it encourages soilerosion. Some experts recommended use of "cover" crops, planted tocover a field after harvest to stymie weed development while addingnutrients to the soil. The industry is also looking at the use of multiple herbicidemechanisms with newer and more specific labeling to combat varyingweed densitites. Experts discussed using equipment that can collectweeds and weed seed at harvest along with grains, so weed seed canbe removed and destroyed. Because short-term strategies can be costly for farmers, manyindustry players would like to see government or industryincentives to help producers. "Why would I want to do something that is going to cost me more andmake me do more work," said Steve Smith, a corn and soybean farmer."This is what growers are saying." Smith is also a member of the Save Our Crops coalition that isfighting a new Dow Chemical proposed herbicide that he and othercritics say will be harmful and exacerbate weed resistance over thelong term. Dow is seeking regulatory approval of a newly formulated herbicidebuilt on traditional 2,4-D chemical herbicide that would bemarketed in conjunction with genetically altered 2,4-D resistantcrops. Critics say the Dow products can do more harm than help, but thecompany and supporters say it is at least a short-term answer. "We need the technology now," said John Davis, an Ohio corn growerwho is helping Dow promote its new 2,4-D products. (Reporting By Carey Gillam; Editing by David Gregorio ). I am an expert from knittedbabywear.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Kids Cotton Pajamas , China Non Slip Baby Socks, Kids Plaid Shirts,and more.
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