Aminopyralid

[chris]

I almost bought a bag of manure from B&Q the other day, then stopped when I remembered this thread! Just don't want to take the chance.

[suziqnewby]

Have just been looking at the pictures and various threads on here and think that i may have put contaminated manure on my patch!!!! My other half got it for me so am not sure where he got it from. The thing is that it has affected some of my plants and not others and it has affected some of the same plants more than others. So am a bit confused. The pictures certainly look like some of my plants. But am confused that not all of the plants have been affected, even though they are near to one another????

[zazen999]

Yup, that's about right Suzi.

I have one potato in the middle of the old potato patch that is looking fab; all the rest were dug up to make room for brassicas and replanted or just left to see what happens; needless to say only that one is looking good.

[Flummery]

My neighbour has been complaining about his tomatoes for ages. I had a look at them yesterday and aksed if he's used horse manure - he had. They have unmistakable signd of aminopyralid toxicity.

[realfood]

I suspect that many more people have been affected by Aminopyralid than has already been reported. Last year, one of our plotters was in Berwick on Tweed and spoke to members of the local allotments. Yes, they had problems with their potatoes, etc., but did not know what was wrong.
For new gardeners, they will think that it is something that they have done and will never suspect the manure.

[glallotments]

Have just been looking at the pictures and various threads on here and think that i may have put contaminated manure on my patch!!!! My other half got it for me so am not sure where he got it from. The thing is that it has affected some of my plants and not others and it has affected some of the same plants more than others. So am a bit confused. The pictures certainly look like some of my plants. But am confused that not all of the plants have been affected, even though they are near to one another????

Suzie - when we were affected back in 2008 the contamination showed up sporadically. As the manure broke down new plants became affected. Also it could well be that some parts of the farmer's manure stack was contaminated and other parts were not. If a field was spot weeded only some of the grass eaten would have herbicide on it or maybe the farmer or stable owner obtained feed from different suppliers.

One word of caution - it is for this reason that I think testing for contamination is unreliable. At best it can confirm that the manure is affected but It can never guarantee that the manure is 'clean'.

[JJSH]

I had a long chat with a breeding/beef farmer about this the other day, and he says that the feed he produces for his cows never has anything sprayed on it, but that he couldn't guarantee that the straw was clean.

Hang on, though, I thught this stuff is used as a herbicide on grassland? If it is, you won't find it in straw, which is from wheat and other cereal. This leads me to believe that if you find a farmer that grows his own animal feed, and doesn't use this stuff, then even if he buys his straw in, you should be OK. Also, if you find one that feeds his animals exclusively on maize silage, you should be OK too?

[cazp]

I am sorry to read of the problems people have been having and hope it can be cleared up soon.

Silly question of the day.... but just for future reference is there any possiblity that commerically available well rotted manure can have Aminopyralid (ie the stuff you can get from Focus etc....)?

[timethatthetaleweretold]

This is quite a scary issue.
I quite understand the decision of some to abandon manure and just use compost etc.

But are there any updates to this?

It would be helpful to understand exactly how widespread the problem is.
I pick up horse manure from some stables where alot of different people rent space. It would be very difficult to ask all of them about their sources of feed etc.

(I'm not digging the stuff into my beds, out of caution. Just mulching some paths with strawy manure, where i might grow stuff in a year or two. )

[zazen999]

I am sorry to read of the problems people have been having and hope it can be cleared up soon.

Silly question of the day.... but just for future reference is there any possiblity that commerically available well rotted manure can have Aminopyralid (ie the stuff you can get from Focus etc....)?

Yes, in fact a tomato feed had to be removed last year [or was it the year before] because it was contaminated with a similar substance...http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ood_38400.html

This is quite a scary issue.
I quite understand the decision of some to abandon manure and just use compost etc.

But are there any updates to this?

It would be helpful to understand exactly how widespread the problem is.
I pick up horse manure from some stables where alot of different people rent space. It would be very difficult to ask all of them about their sources of feed etc.

(I'm not digging the stuff into my beds, out of caution. Just mulching some paths with strawy manure, where i might grow stuff in a year or two. )

The chemicals were withdrawn and re-licenced; and thus will be in the system. If a farmer uses it and allows animals to eat the resulting crops; then it will be in the manure - just waiting to be spread on unsuspecting lotties.

The hay and straw that are sold to farms and horsey people in our village all come from the same source as the manure that we were sold. I suspect more tears are going to be shed on this topic before the story ends.

[chris]

I'm planning to keep away from using it to be honest. I've plenty of compost on the go, and am going to try going down the green manure route as well.

I was wondering similar, and was about to post this so thanks for posting

[Kristen]

The instructions on the original package made it abundantly clear of the risk, and the responsibility / onus on the farmer to inform recipients of Manure, Silage, Hay, etc. of the potential long-term effects.

Clearly that didn't happen

So the license for the product was temporarily withdrawn

It was then re-licensed and supposedly much more stringent stewardship has been introduced.

We will see ...

None of the farmers local to me know anything about it - so much for the Farmer's Press or any other educational vehicle.

I make a point of asking Farmers from whom I get manure if they have specifically used the chemical, bought in any silage / hay for their animals, used any contractors to spray their pastures, etc. All of them have never heard of the product, certainly never used it, and (around here) not bought anything [Silage / Hay] in either

But do be vigilant

[timethatthetaleweretold]

Yeah, more tears sooner or later...

and thanks for the warning to be vigilant...

Just to add to the info posted above:

Forefront and Pharaoh return with new rules on use | British Grassland Society

Dow Product Manager Robin Bentley explains:

For 2010, Forefront and Pharaoh will only be available in the South West of England (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire), Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Our aim is that through careful stewardship, Forefront and Pharaoh will return to UK-wide sales in 2011.

So presumably, these products (Banish has not been re-licenced) are still only available in a limited number of regions.

This might be comfort for those living outside those regions.

[chris]

Yes, that's all fine saying the limited area it's available in, but it'd not suprise me if the muck was carted about all over the country - not even in the slightest!

How about going for a trek over some mountains, and pick up some sheep poo?

[Kristen]

But if I'm reading this correctly all areas will potentially have the problem again next year?

"will return to UK-wide sales in 2011."