Re: [compost_tea] Old chemicals

From: Robert Norsen <bnbrew_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 22:48:23 -0800 (PST)

Jason, has ACT managed wireworms? I hope! Bob

Jason Austin <jason.austin_at_shaw.ca> wrote:Elaine frequently talks of the damage done to soils by chemicals. Today, on an organic growers list I belong to, was a discussion on wireworms, and someone stitched together links to various sites that talked about them.   I followed one of those links to http://www.spudman.com/pages/issue04_01/04_01_wireworm.html

These are the opening paragraphs. Look at the part I have highlighted:

Recall this picture of yesteryear's agriculture: The farmer with the shovel flinging soil against a screen to monitor for the wireworms he knows can decimate his crop.

Then came advances in ag chemistries that pushed the wireworm to the back of growers’ minds until – not a good surprise – the late 1990s when all of a sudden severe wireworm damage was reported on spud crops and also on no-till wheat fields in Eastern Washington.

“The theory that’s being tossed around," said Andy Jensen, research director of the Washington State Potato Commission, "is that the old chemicals (now outlawed by the EPA) are finally dissipating. Some of the old materials had a half-life of 20 years, so even though they haven’t been used in a long time it’s possible that they continued to contribute to wireworm control.”


And if those outlawed chemicals have been controlling wireworm for 20 years what else have they been doing to the soil organisms ? .........

So the next time someone reports little success with CT, and a list of possible reasons is given to them, perhaps one of the answers may be his or her tea is good but the soil was poisoned 20 years ago!


Jason

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Received on Sat Jan 10 2004 - 11:18:28 EST

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