Diquat is banned in the UK, EU, China and other countries. The US has resisted calls to regulate it

Diquat is banned in the UK, EU, China and other countries. The US has resisted calls to regulate it

The herbicide ingredient used to replace glyphosate in Roundup and other weedkiller products can kill gut bacteria and damage organs in multiple ways, new research shows.

The ingredient, diquat, is widely employed in the US as a weedkiller in vineyards and orchards, and is increasingly sprayed elsewhere as the use of controversial herbicide substances such as glyphosate and paraquat drops in the US.

But the new piece of data suggests diquat is more toxic than glyphosate, and the substance is banned over its risks in the UK, EU, China and many other countries. Still, the EPA has resisted calls for a ban, and Roundup formulas with the ingredient hit the shelves last year.

  • SheeEttin@lemmy.zipEnglish
    51·
    2 days ago

    Just don’t get it in your body and you’ll be fine. (This includes eating foods sprayed with it without washing. Maybe also foods grown in contaminated soil; I didn’t read the article or study thoroughly.)

    Personally I use Natria weed killer (https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/natria-grass-weed-control-with-root-killer-1-gal-707201a), active ingredients: Ammoniated soap of fatty acids, Maleic Hydrazide. I still wouldn’t get it in your body, but I’m pretty sure it’s less harmful and breaks down into harmless components much quicker.

    Of course it’s also less effective, so it might take multiple applications, but that’s to be expected.

    • protist@mander.xyzEnglish
      151·
      2 days ago

      Diquat bonds strongly to mineral and organic particles in soil and water, where it remains without significant degradation for years. However, bound to clays, diquat is biologically inactive at the concentrations typically observed in agricultural soils.

      Unfortunately, the “just don’t eat it” idea doesn’t work so well when it persists in the environment for so long

    • fitgse@sh.itjust.works
      8·
      2 days ago

      The problem is all that ends up in the groundwater. Obviously industrial use is the problem, but I think it is responsible to avoid any herbicide especially if it is just to make your yard “look nice”.

      • SheeEttin@lemmy.zipEnglish
        21·
        2 days ago

        I would, but that doesn’t work for stuff coming up through cracks in concrete, or through chain link fence. Most of the stuff I spray is stuff I can’t pull.

        I had some oriental bittersweet coming up, and for that I dug down and pulled as much as I can, didn’t even bother spraying. But there’s also Virginia creeper and black swallow-wort around here mixed in with other stuff, including on the property line that I can’t physically reach to pull. So that stuff I spray. (The neighbors basically let it grow wild, so they dgaf, I just keep it minimal.)

        • grue@lemmy.world
          4·
          2 days ago

          I would, but that doesn’t work for stuff coming up through cracks in concrete, or through chain link fence.

          For that sort of stuff, I recommend vinegar or propane. lMO the only reason to use a fancy commercial herbicide is when you need it to be selective, e.g. when you’re trying to get rid of broad leaf lawn weeds without killing the grass, too. (Edit: I’m not endorsing that as a good reason, BTW, as I’m more of a !nolawns@slrpnk.net sympathizer myself. I’m just saying that it’s the only one that’s even plausible.)

        • Seasm0ke@lemmy.world
          3·
          2 days ago

          Yeah those ones I been going manually. Ripped out and burned so much ivy and st johns wort… I just don’t want to spray so bad ill break my back every month