A WIDELY used herbicide encourages the growth of toxic fungi that devastate wheat fields, laboratory studies by scientists working for the Canadian government suggest.
If field studies confirm that the herbicide, glyphosate, increases the risk of fungal infections – which are already a huge problem – farmers might be advised to use it less. That could be a major blow for backers of genetically modified wheat in Canada, because the first GM variety up for approval in Canada is modified to be glyphosate-resistant. If it gets the go-ahead, there is likely to be an overall increase in glyphosate use.
The potential problem…
