

An anti Monsanto sign in a crop field  (Source:
May slowly but surely switch from biotech seed to conventional seed











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RE: These statements are incorrect
By JediJeb on 10/6/2010 11:47:13 AM , Rating: 3
Actually Roundup doesn't work in the soil, it only works on contact with the leaves of growing plants. What makes the Roundup resistant crops useful is that you can spray Roundup right on the crops and it will kill the weeds but not the crops. It makes for a less labor intensive control of weeds which saves fuel, time, and the use of more dangerous chemicals.

To use Roundup on not GM crops, you have to wait until the weeds are taller than the crops. Then you must apply the Roundup with a rope wick system which "paints" the chemical on the leaves of the weeds as you travel through the field pushing a device that has a rope saturated with Roundup suspended off the front of the tractor being careful not to lower it to the point you touch the crop or it will be killed also. Boom sprayers can cover more ground much faster which is why the GM crops are preferred.

When using no-till planting, the Roundup is applied before planting to kill weeds that are currently growing first, then used later to kill weeds that sprout after planting. The Roundup won't kill even the non-GM crops if applied a few days before planting since it rapidly breaks down into inactive metabolites in the soil, which is one thing that makes Roundup a safer herbicide to use.

The biggest racket though is that Monsanto makes both the Roundup and the Roundup resistant crops. Now that they have such a monopoly (though Glyphosate which is the active ingredient in Roundup is now out of patent protection and produced by other companies) the cost saving of using GM seeds has been offset by the price they are now charging for them.

