SPRAY TELL: Bread & Wine: The chemical trail through wheat and grapes (Part Five)
There’s a price to pay for our love of bread and wine in the chemicals commonly used to grow wheat and grapes. Most of that bill is paid in farm soils, neighbouring veld and rivers downstream. But traces can also travel beyond the farm fence.
The Western Cape region, known for its fertile soils, is struggling with the hidden impact of farm chemicals used in growing wheat and grapes. A series of studies reveals that these chemicals, despite their low concentrations, can enter water systems and pose risks to aquatic life. Researchers found dozens of farm chemicals and their breakdown products in agricultural rivers, with most levels remaining below warning thresholds.
However, several pesticides, including insect killers and weedkillers, exceeded these limits at times.
The studies highlight the complex nature of pesticide contamination, as some chemicals appeared even when farmers were not actively using them, possibly due to seeping from groundwater or drifting through the air. The timing of chemical presence in rivers followed the application schedule on farms, indicating that proper timing and application can help minimize environmental impact.
Researchers suggest several strategies to address the issue, including maintaining detailed spray records, selecting the least harmful treatments that still yield good results, monitoring weather conditions, preserving buffers of vegetation near water bodies, reducing soil disturbance, testing biological controls, improving wastewater treatment plants, and continuous monitoring of river and soil health.
By implementing these measures, farmers can protect their crops while minimizing harm to the environment and surrounding ecosystems.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
