Moderne Landwirtschaft und Herbizide/ Modern Agriculture and Herbicides

Abstract

Abstract Weeds and their control were mentioned already in the Bible. For hundreds of years weed control was performed by hand, with tools and machines. Since more than thirty years “Chem­istry” has been helping out to a steadily increasing degree. More than 100 different active sub­stances are available for this purpose today. The use of herbicides has grown at this tremendous rate because many of the people formerly employed in “Farming” discovered that other sectors of the economy offered better opportunities for earning an income with shorter hours and more pleasant working conditions; so they gradually left agriculture. In view of the lade of any other solution farmers had to use chemistry to substitute for the absence of sufficient manpower. A reversal of this development is hardly to be expected in spite of the growing popularity of the environmentalists’ slogan “Bade to Nature”. For one thing, the rationalization that was more or less forced on agriculture finally helped the farmer approach the high standard of living enjoyed by the rest of society. Agriculture without chemical| weed control would only become plausible if the people working in agriculture were again willing to accept longer workdays and greater discomfort (dust, dirt, wet and cold) and to agree voluntarily to waive a portion of their potential income. The resultant unit production costs in that case would mean that the consumer would have to also be willing to spend more for food and thus cut back the share spent on other items related to a high quality of living, such as leisure time, holidays and cultural activities. As the realization of these preconditions sharply contradicts the progressive nature of man and the trends of history, herbicides will maintain their position in agriculture. However, we are all called upon to integrate the use of chemical weed control agents with other cultural practices available in an economically and biologically responsible manner. Successful basic research must remain the foundation of social progress, and this in turn must create the financial prerequisites for flourishing basic research.