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Cotton: clothing the world, naturally
Paraquat herbicide for non-selective weed control in no-till and other sustainable agriculture systems
Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Cotton is one of the world’s major crops and particularly important to the economies of many developing countries. Cotton itself is a fibre which protects the seed of the cotton plant, much as the flesh of an apple protects the pips. So, fruit are not only for eating. The crop has been at the forefront of the revolution in biotechnology, being the second genetically modified (GM) crop to be introduced in broadacre agriculture after soybeans in 1997.
One of the main traits in GM cotton is tolerance to applications of the non-selective herbicide glyphosate. The choice of herbicide resistance as an early target for biotechnology research indicates the importance of effective weed control in cotton. Although herbicide tolerant cotton has many advantages, it has contributed to enormous increases in the use of glyphosate and the consequent problem of glyphosate resistant weeds.
Paraquat is the alternative non-selective herbicide which can provide solutions to these weed control problems.

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Paraquat promotes soil health in new corn cropping system
Paraquat herbicide for non-selective weed control in no-till and other sustainable agriculture systems
Tuesday, 20 December 2011

US crop scientists are excited about the potential to protect soil in fields where corn is grown for biofuel production by the use of perennial cover crops suppressed by paraquat.
In the near future, the food versus fuel dilemma will be addressed by using ‘waste’ crop residues instead of grain as the feedstock for bioethanol. However, the concern is that removal of stover and chaff normally returned to the soil will cause serious erosion and fertility problems.
Iowa State University has conducted a three-year project that has demonstrated how carefully managed...

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More modes of action needed to support glyphosate tolerant crops
Paraquat herbicide for non-selective weed control in no-till and other sustainable agriculture systems
Wednesday, 16 November 2011

The introduction of glyphosate tolerant (GT) crops has been the one of the most significant technological changes in agriculture, along with mechanization and hybrid seed breeding. Farmers around the world are reaping the benefits of a simplified weed control system, saving costs, time and labor and increasing operational flexibility. Adoption has been rapid, particularly in the Americas. In the most important soybean growing US states, Brazil and Argentina around 90% of crops are GT. Globally 148 million ha were sown to GM crops across 29 countries in 2010 of which close to 90 million...

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Developing no-till maize in China with paraquat
Paraquat herbicide for non-selective weed control in no-till and other sustainable agriculture systems
Monday, 10 October 2011

Farmers in southwest China are adopting no-till maize production using paraquat for weed control. A large proportion of crops in the region are grown by smallholder farmers on hillside fields. Soil erosion and loss of fertility are serious problems. The traditional methods of hand and mechanical weed control have very high labor demands and often cannot be done in a timely manner to achieve the best yields.

Recognizing these issues, a project was set-up to teach farmers and extension workers how to grow no-till maize. Demonstration field trials and training sessions were used...

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