Use manure with confidence

UK - March 05, 2009

A new website www.manurematters.co.uk has been launched by Dow AgroSciences to help gardeners and vegetable growers make the most of manure without the risk of herbicide residues.

The site brings together information gathered by the company in recent months after a number of reported instances of damage to susceptible crops last summer, where plants such as potatoes and beans were thought to have been affected by manure that contained traces of the weedkiller aminopyralid - the active ingredient in products such as Forefront or Pharaoh.

“We do not want gardeners to be put off using manure this spring, as the risk of product residues being present is very small,” says Robin Bentley of Dow AgroSciences. “Of the many millions of  tonnes of manure produced on UK farms last year, a tiny proportion (less than 0.02%) could have come from aminopyralid-treated pasture, and it’s likely that an even smaller proportion than that would have left farms.

“Users of these products should be aware of the warnings that manure should not be subsequently used on susceptible crops and should not be used as compost. Despite this we do recognise that some gardeners were affected last year and regret this. That is why we asked for the product’s approval to be suspended and have since invested a considerable effort in a communications programme to make all audiences - farmers, gardeners, horse owners, manure/compost suppliers, etc aware of the potential problem. Manure is a great soil conditioner and fertilizer and so I want gardeners to be able to use manure this spring with confidence”

The campaign aims to help avoid any manure from treated forage leaving farms, or being supplied to gardeners. While the dedicated website, www.manurematters.co.uk provides in-depth information.

“In essence, our advice to gardeners is simple. Ask your manure supplier, whether it is a local farmer or a horse business, if the animals that produced the manure ate any forage made from pasture treated with Forefront or Pharaoh?

“If the answer is ‘yes’, or ‘I don’t know’, then seek an alternative supply.”

If gardeners already have manure, possibly left over from last year, then Dow AgroSciences has developed a test that can be undertaken at home or in the greenhouse.

The manure test

Thoroughly mix 1 part manure with 1 part multi-purpose compost in a clean bucket. Prepare enough to fill four 5-inch pots.  Fill another four clean pots solely with multi-purpose compost. These will be the untreated comparisons.

Place each of the pots in a separate saucer to prevent water from one pot reaching another.  Water the pots and leave to stand for 24 hours. Then plant each pot with four broad bean seeds.

Observe subsequent growth for a four-week period and note any ill effects in the pots containing the manure mix, such as cupped leaves and fernlike growth on new shoots.

These symptoms may indicate aminopyralid residue in the manure. Signs of other kinds of damage will most likely indicate other issues such as damping off or bacteria-infected soil, etc.

“We hope that ‘manurematters’ will answer most questions that gardeners might have,” says Mr Bentley. “However, anyone with a specific query can contact us via the website.”