Garden Pictures Chat Corner

Respect… I just received a reply to my email.. that was really quick!

“…Today, the field was sprayed against the weed windhalm. The herbicide Pontos with a 100% soil effect was applied….”

Now I first have to find out what the herbicide ‘Pontos’ is.

I worked for several years in the research and development of plant protection products and know a bit about it. The main components of "Pontos" are picolinafen (weight %: 8.74) and flufenacet (weight %: 20.98). Flufenacet is a CMR substance. CMR stands for: C: carcinogenic - causing cancer M: mutagenic - causing mutations R: reproductive toxic - damages the child in the womb and can affect fertility.

The degradation product trifluoroacetate (TFA) can be detected in groundwater and is difficult to remove in drinking water treatment. Products containing picolinafen are, by the way, banned in Switzerland.

That doesn't sound really good.

Some things one does not want to know. The product seems to be allowed, available on every corner via Google

Had read it is newly approved. Assumed that it is more environmentally friendly than e.g. [Glypostat]

Respect… I just received feedback on my email… that was really quick! “...Today, this field was sprayed against the weed windhalm. The herbicide Pontos with 100% soil activity was applied....” Now I have to find out first what the herbicide “Pontos” is.

And then? Who was there first? The agriculture or the residential area? It’s like people who build cheaply near airports and then form citizens’ groups against aircraft noise. Unbelievable.

As always, the dose makes the poison. If you are interested in this, , you can read fairly detailed test results from animal experiments at the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency). Flufenacet is on the Greenpeace blacklist, also a source of information. As a layperson (which I am too), it is difficult to evaluate such things objectively. We live in a world where excitement and undermining trust are just as much a business as environmentally harmful behavior. This makes us very easily unsettled and we have a hard time classifying facts. I would choose against fear and panic.