[CEHMO] [Paracelsus] fwd: Round-up Ready Sudden Death Syndrome (fwd)

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ISIS Press Release 30/11/03

Round-up Ready Sudden Death Syndrome

<mailto:jcummins@...>Prof. Joe Cummins finds

evidence that Roundup Ready causes sudden death

and other diseases by boosting fusarium in the

soil.

For several years, investigations have been

carried out on the impact of herbicides,

particularly glyphosate (Round-up) on soil

microbial communities. These investigations

revealed increased colonization of the roots of

Round-up Ready (RR) soya with the fungus Fusarium

in midwestern fields during 1997 to 2000 [1,2].

At the same time, large scale cropping with

herbicide-tolerant cultivars was found to

increase soil-borne plant pathogens [3];

Brazilian soils showed increased microbial

activity for several seasons [4]. There is clear

evidence that repeated glyphosate applications

over several seasons increases soil-borne

pathogens.

During the first year of glyphosate application

on RR soya, a severe sudden death syndrome

epidemic occurred in several RR cultivars. The RR

cultivars were susceptible to sudden death from

infection by the fungus Fusarium solani [5].

Sudden death syndrome of soya is a disease of

economic importance in North America. Follow-up

studies showed that different cultivars of soya

showed different levels of resistance to the

sudden death fungus and suggest that glyphosate

tolerant and non-tolerant cultivars responded

similarly to infection by Fusarium solani [6,7].

According to Bigwood

(<http://www.mycoherbicide.net/>www.mycoherbicide.net),

a scientist from Agriculture Canada, Myriam

Fernadez, had reported as yet unpublished studies

showing that wheat fields that had been treated

with glyphosate had elevated levels fusarium head

blight, a serious disease of wheat.

Andy Coghlan of the New Scientist further reported:

" The potential problem was spotted a few years

ago by Myriam Fernandez of the Semiarid Prairie

Agricultural Research Centre run by Agriculture

and Agri-Food Canada in Swift Current,

Saskatchewan. She noticed that in some fields

where glyphosate had been applied the previous

year, wheat appeared to be worse affected by

fusarium head blight - a devastating fungal

disease that damages grain and turns it pink. In

Europe alone, fusarium head blight destroys a

fifth of wheat harvests. The fungi that cause the

disease also produce toxins that can kill humans

and animals. In a follow-up study, Fernandez

measured levels of the blight in wheat fields.

" We found higher levels of blight within each

tillage category when glyphosate had been used in

the previous year, " says her colleague

Hanson. And his lab study showed that Fusarium

graminearum and F. avenaceum, the fungi that

cause head blight, grow faster when

glyphosate-based weedkillers are added to the

nutrient medium. " [9].

Unfortunately, Agriculture Canada has not fast

tracked publication of such important results

when they are advocating registration of RR wheat.

In conclusion, there seems to be a clear link

between the use of herbicide and accumulation of

pathogenic fungi in the soil. The RR soya

cultivars fared poorly under the impact of the

sudden death fungus. Wheat fields treated with

Round-up appear to be sensitive to the head

blight disease. Such findings should have

triggered prompt and extensive reviews on the use

of Roundup and Roundup tolerant GM crops by our

North American regulators. Instead of which, the

two governments of North America appear to be

advocating registration of RR wheat.

1. KremerR, P, Keaster A and Minor H.

Herbicide impact on Fusarium spp. and Soybean

Cyst nematode in Glyphosate tolerant Soybean.

American Society of Agronomy abstracts 2000,

s03-104

<http://www.biotech-info.net/fungi_buildup_abstract.html>http://www.biotech-info\

..net/fungi_buildup_abstract.html

2. Editors Glyphosate wed killer benefits soil fungus. Progresive Farmer

<http://www.biotech-info.net/soil_fungus.html>http://www.biotech-info.net/soil_f\

ungus.html

3. Termorshuizen A. and Lotz A. Does large scale

cropping of herbicide-resistant cultivars

increase soil born pathogens. Outlook on

Agriculture 2002 31,51-4.

4. Araujo A, Monteiro R. and Abarkeli R. Effects

of glyphosate on the microbial activity of two

Brazilian soils. Chemosphere 2003 , 52,799–804

5 Njiti V, Myers O, Schroeder D and Lightfoot D.

Glyphosate effects on Fusarium solani root

colonization and sudden death syndrome. Agron. J.

2003, 95, 1140-5

6. Sanogo S,Yang X and Sherm H. Effects of

herbicide on Fusarium solani f. sp glycines and

development of sudden death syndrome in

glyphosate-tolerant soybean " 2000 ,90,57-66.

7.Sanogo S, Yang X and Lundeen P. Field response

of glyphosate-tolerant soybean to herbicides and

sudden death syndrome " Plant Disease 2001,85,

773-9.

8.Bigwood J. Glyphosate-Fusarium story. 2003

<http://mycoherbicide.net/NEWS/glyphosate.htm>http://mycoherbicide.net/NEWS/glyp\

hosate.htm

9. CropChoice News " Glyphosate may encourage wheat blight " 2003

http://www.cropchoice.com/leadstry.asp?RecID=1959.

This article can be found on the I-SIS website at

<http://www.i-sis.org.uk/full/RRSDFull.php>http://www.i-sis.org.uk/full/RRSDFull\

..php

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