IN last Sunday's BBC's Gardener's Question Time, several queries were submitted re plants that had been "nourished" with a refutable manufacturer's manure,having shrivelled up & died.My ears instantly pricked up, because this has happened to me, for no apparant reason.

According to the experts, thereIS a reason.

 

That being......the manure is the direct effect of crop spraying which is affecting the cattle's bi-products, so seriously that the soil can be contminated for up to 4 years.

 

Come on you farmers THINK ...WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO US.If it is killing our garden plants, what is it doing to us?

It was a weedkiller that is perfectly safe for animals but not for plants and it passes straight through the animals system, unfortunately it stays active in the faeces. Unfortunately the weedkiller used was not glyposphate, which only affects green parts of the plants and is untraceable after about 3 weeks. (I use glyphosphate to kill off weeds in compost heap it does not affect the worms there)

With the increase in demands for GM crops and the "round-up resistant" strains being bred, the situation is going to worsen if GM crops are grown large scale in the UK.

 

I love studying with the RHS.

Withies, the more likely explanation is that the gardeners were a little overenthusiastic with their applications. An excess of nitrogen fertiliser kills very quickly. Plant residues that are converted to manure ,either by animal digestion or composting, undergo chemical and biological decomposition. The minute levels of residual pesticides contained in the straw are similarly broken down. We farmers apply manures back to our own crops with no evidence of plant kill. So long as the application rates are not excessive it is a good thing. Excessive applications can cause crops to grow too vigourously and fall over (lodging) and this is a result of too much nitrogen.

I believe this report applies almost solely to "Forefront" which is a pasture herbicide to keep down nettles, docks, thistles etc.   It is supposed to be (and I believe is) extremely effective, partly as a result of its persistence compared with other herbicides, and that of course is its downfall in this context.  It comes with dire warnings on using the dung from sheep or cattle that have eaten the treated grass (directly or as hay), saying it should be composted for two years.  There is no suggestion that the sheep or cattle themselves are at risk, on the basis of rather a lot of testing.  However, I looked at those instructions and decided I would continue using older and less persistent herbicides for spot treatment.  The vast majority of livestock farmers use manure from their own livestock on their own fields, and problems are vanishingly rare ( there may be a small rash of them as a result of the introduction of Forefront ).

I like Bob Flowerdew, but remember in the same edition of GQT he was claiming to get distorted vegetables as a result of radioactive fallout from Chernobyl.  Thankfully this was very low (almost undetectable) for us in East Anglia, and much lower than for some other parts of the country.

                                                                                         Dick Plumb

markw Whilst you do not kill your crops when spreading manure, I would be very surprised if the application of it doesn't cause any scorch in standing crops. This is because a number of harsh acids are produced when manure in allowed to rot or ferment in the absence of enough oxygen. However, if you managed your manure aerobically ie composted it, these acids are not produced... nor are the strong odours of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide etc. Regards CW

I don't apply manure to a standing crop, think of the wheeling damage, but rather apply it to the ground before ploughing.

 If you know of a cost effective anaerobic digester for about 800 tons with 3t daily additions please share it with us. Even with the sale of bio-gas produced the scale of plant required needs large amounts of both capital and land area. The odours may be reduced but never eliminated as they are mostly released at the point of production not during the breakdown process.