Yahoo! News - Canada Hopes to Slay Dandelions with Common Fungi
Canada Hopes to Slay Dandelions with Common Fungi
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Science - Reuters
Canada Hopes to Slay Dandelions with Common Fungi
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By Roberta Rampton
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - A common fungus could blanch dan=
delions out of existence by robbing the pesky weeds of the green-colored ch=
lorophyll they need to live, Canadian researchers said on Wednesday.
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The fungus could replace some chemical herbicides, which have b=
een banned because of environmental and health concerns in a growing number=
of cities, including Canada's largest, Toronto.
Scientists at Agriculture Canada found the naturally occurring =
fungus, called Phoma macrostoma, can be spread on soil to prevent weeds fro=
m growing, without harming grass.
"It causes those plants to turn white so they don't produce any=
chlorophyll," said Karen Bailey, a weed pathologist at the federal departm=
ent's research center in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
"If plants don't produce chlorophyll, they don't grow, so they =
die very quickly," Bailey explained.
The fungi was isolated from sickly Canada thistles across the c=
ountry, Bailey said.
Trials show that spreading the flour-like fungi on freshly plan=
ted or clean lawns prevents more than 80 percent of weeds from growing, Bai=
ley said.
"If you're going to seed a lawn or want to prevent weeds from e=
ntering into an area, that would be how it would be used," she said.
The organisms live about four months in soil before they start =
to die. By the following year they are gone, Bailey said.
"We don't want (the fungi) to really change that microbial bala=
nce, because that's not the only living thing in the soil," she said.
The department has a three-year research agreement with the Can=
adian division of The Scotts Co., maker of Miracle-Gro fertilizer and other=
gardening products.
It gives Scotts the first right to commercialize the fungi if i=
t is found to be safe and economical to produce in large quantities, Bailey=
said.
Scotts also markets Killex, a synthetic herbicide that uses 2,4=
-D to kill weeds after they have emerged.
The potential market for the fungi is "huge," said Barry Maynar=
d, vice president and general manager of Scotts Canada Ltd., who did not ha=
ve projections.
"Whether it's golf courses or cemeteries or consumer lawns, bas=
ically it could have appeal for all those different areas to use the produc=
t," Maynard said.
The fungi could be on shelves in four to six years, Bailey said=
, if the research continues to show promise.
But first, researchers need to figure out how to formulate, pac=
kage and store the living organisms, which are sensitive to temperatures an=
d moisture.
"It naturally exists in the environment. The challenge is: How =
do you harness it?" Maynard said.
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Received on Wed Mar 03 2004 - 20:34:26 EST