[NatureNS] Questions

References: <BAY114-W32A5B6730F666EF9640098B5270@phx.gbl>
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:08:16 -0400
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
From: David Christie <maryspt@nbnet.nb.ca>
Cc: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca,
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Original-Recipient: rfc822;"| (cd /csuite/info/Environment/FNSN/MList; /csuite/lib/arch2html)"

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&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; website) that dist
At 7:58 PM -0400 2/16/08, David & Alison Webster wrote:

>
>    I have no idea what may be used on Sunflower in Manitoba but if 
>it is Roundup then I would expect no adverse effect at all on birds 
>or humans. They don't give this stuff away and rates would be just 
>sufficient for contact injury, as a crude guess probably less than 
>one kg/active ingredient per ha.
>


I did a quick search for information on 'sunflower' and 'herbicide' 
and found an Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs 
page 
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/pub75/12sunhar.htm#reglone 
that suggests Reglone (active ingredient: diquat) as a pre-harvest 
treatment of sunflowers "to reduce the period of time from maturity 
to harvest, to speed up harvesting, and decrease seed moisture at 
harvest."  This seems more likely than Roundup to be used before 
harvest by Canadian producers of sunflower seed. (Other herbicides 
may be used earlier to control weeds competing with the sunflower 
plants.)

Another page http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/notes/diquat.htm
indicates that diquat may be used in a similar way in the production 
of canola (rapeseed), flax, dry beans, dry peas, mustard, soybeans, 
etc., and for top killing of potatoes, a lot of crops consumed by us. 
Diquat is reported to be "rapidly absorbed by foliage" but with 
"limited translocation" [to other parts, such as seeds and tubers, 
presumably]. "Residual Activity" is "essentially none due to 
adsorption of chemical to soil particles," but the persistence of the 
chemical and potential impacts on soil organisms, water and other 
parts of the ecosystem are not mentioned.


-- 

David Christie
Mary's Point, Harvey, Albert Co., New Brunswick, Canada
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/maryspt

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