Alan Schreiber is an organic farmer in Eltopia, Washington, who had used Agro Gold WS.
“No legitimate organic grower would ever use glyphosate or diquat,” he wrote. “Honestly, I am pissed.”
When asked if this might be accidental contamination, Schreiber whose resume includes a doctoral degree, time working as a pesticide specialist for Washington State University and two years working at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., was skeptical.
“If the Agro Gold were stored in a tank that had both products in it and if the product was transferred through pipes that were contaminated with both products, it could cause this,” he wrote. “However, because diquat and glyphosate are so different from each other and used so differently they would NEVER be together. No one would ever use a tank to hold or a pipe to transfer both products. That would never happen.”
Exactly how much-contaminated product was used remains unknown.
“There are a number of weed and crops researchers who have evaluated or at least dabbled with the product [Agro Gold WS] and mostly have had a relatively good impression,” Hanson wrote, “[but] to my knowledge none have had their specific herbicide lots tested to know if they are contaminated or not.”
It’s reasonable that only a few tested the combined Agro Gold WS product because according to the Agro Grow label it contains only microbes Streptomyces rimosus and Bacillus megaterium that are “…considered naturally derived, non-pathogenic, non-toxic, non-GMO, non-hazardous and non-corrosive.” The Weed Slayer element is labeled as containing only water, molasses and eugenol, the aromatic oily liquid extract from clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, basil and bay leaf.
