The Soil Association and the Organic Growers Alliance (OGA) are demanding a ban the sale of manure with the herbicide aminopyralid amid fears over human health.
The organisations are calling on growers to be vigilant following renewed cases of damaged crops linked to the product. Symptoms exhibited on the crops are twisted, cupped, and elongated leaves; misshapen fruit; reduced yield; death of young plants; and poor seed germination.
Aminopyralid has caused serious damage to crops and both the Soil Association and OGA are looking for a complete ban on its sale.
It has been discovered that it can remain active, damage subsequent crops, and can pose a human health threat, even after the crop to which it has been applied has been eaten by a horse or cow, passed through the animal, been stored as farm yard manure, and eventually applied to another crop.
After government lobbying by the Soil Association, OGA, Garden Organic and others in 2008, the product was withdrawn from sale by the manufacturers Dow AgroScience Ltd.
It was then re-instated in September 2009 by the Chemicals Regulations Directorate (CRD), with enhanced stewardship requirements which the Soil Association claims are “unenforced” and disregards 1,500 on the Number 10 website.
Ben Raskin, Soil Association horticultural advisor, said: “The problem has not gone away and there may still be manure around that contains herbicide from 2008. It may also be that the ’stewardship’ proposals, which aim to prevent manure leaving farms where aminopyralid has been used, are not working. We urge growers to be careful about where they are sourcing their manure from.
“This product should never have been relicenced - manure contaminated with this herbicide is no longer a valuable resource for gardeners but a toxic waste product. The fact that this hormone weed killer is still causing significant problems for growers despite this industry attempts to prevent damage means that it should be immediately banned by the government.”
