Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers
by undersuit on Friday September 22, 2017 @11:58AM
(#15313315)
You don't think overuse of herbicides ALSO leads to resistance among plants? Dicamba is being pushed because Glyphosate is falling off in effectiveness now that weeds have developed resistance.
>If we didn't have broad spectrum herbicides, farmers would have to use many narrow spectrum herbicides to kill weeds of different varieties. More herbicide, not less.
The reverse is true. Narrow application of herbicides to just the weed plants encroaching upon a field results in far less herbicide application then spraying entire fields as a matter of practice.
Dicamba is a herbicide, not a pesticide.
Using Dicamba or Glyphosphate leads to less herbicide use. Because the soybeans or maize has been modified specifically to tolerate dicamba or glyphosphate and that those herbicides kill pretty much anything that is green, they don't have to use a lot of it.
If we didn't have broad spectrum herbicides, farmers would have to use many narrow spectrum herbicides to kill weeds of different varieties. More herbicide, not less.