Water quality warning for glyphosate users

Growers that make use of glyphosate are being warned to ensure they correctly manage water quality when spraying crops prior to harvesting.

FarmingUK reports that Bryan Pickles of Barclay Crop Protection is stressing that glyphosate can be vulnerable to "lock-up" when combined with hard water and could prove ineffective.

Mr Pickles explained that many growers are unaware that dissolved minerals can be found in all water types and this can have a negative impact on spraying results.

He added: "There's one additional point that's worth making about water quality and it's something that no amount of additives and additional products can solve - it's simply an issue of not cutting corners."

Meanwhile, a farmer from north Devon was recently fined a total of £7,173 for discharging slurry over a cliff.

A member of the public alerted the Environment Agency to the offence after witnessing the waste entering the sea close to Spekes Mill.