Don’t eat your vegetables warning

9:30am Friday 11th July 2008

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HUNDREDS of plants have been wiped out at allotments across South Lakeland after gardeners unwittingly used manure contaminated by a ‘killer’ herbicide. Crops of potatoes, tomatoes, peas and beans, along with relatives from the flower family, have been destroyed by muck which is believed to have contained aminopyralid - a hormone-based herbicide used by farmers to treat their land for weeds, docks and thistles. Gardeners across the country have been warned by the makers of the chemical - Dow AgroSciences - not to eat their home-grown vegetables, which have failed to grow properly and display withered, curled-up leaves. The company is also advising people not to re-plant in affected ground this year, prompting frustrated complaints from those who rely on their allotments for food. Kendal allotment gardener and former plant physiologist Steve Palmer said when he noticed something wrong with his tomato plants in May, he contacted the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which reported being 'inundated' with calls from the public. The Royal Horticultural Society also reported a high volume of complaints. Mr Palmer said the herbicide was a synthetic plant growth regulator that persisted through the gut and urine of animals into manure. The problem came if it was applied before it had the chance to break down. A spokesperson for Dow said it had long been known that it was possible for low levels of the herbicide to be found in manure and that the use of such manure as a fertiliser or compost might, in some circumstances, cause damage to sensitive crops.The weedkiller Forefront was one of the most likely forms of aminopyralid. Gardeners concerned about the impact on crops they have grown to eat are being advised to contact the Foods Standards Agency on 020-72768829.

For story in full, see the July 11 Westmorland Gazette.