To spray or not?
2010-10-07
Lise Beyers
RESIDENTS across the valley are battling daily with sniffs and sneezes, now that spring is in full bloom. But many sufferers of hay-fever and asthma are pointing fingers at the spraying of chemicals on oak trees and vineyards for pest and fungicide control. Currently the oak trees of Paarl are being sprayed against the occurrence of Oidium (powdery mildew), a fungal disease which attacks both vines and oak trees. Vines and oak trees carry a different strain of mildew and are thus treated with different fungicides. But some residents are convinced that these fungicides are harmless. One resident, Iain Smuts, has accused the Drakenstein Municipality of “systematically poisoning” residents, and is threatening legal action. “The Drakenstein Municipality’s program for the spraying of trees in Paarl to control powdery mildew is illegal. “Written notices need to be delivered to residents a minimum of 48 hours prior to spraying, not after spraying has already occurred, which has been the case with the Drakenstein Municipality “The products being used (Tilt, Bumper and Rubigan) are agricultural fungicides and not licensed for residential use.” Smuts is backed by Jurgen Schirmacher of The Air That I Breathe Foundation (Tatib). Tatib was formed precisely to target, what they consider to bepotentially harmful toxic spray drift in urban areas which is caused by fungicides. Schirmacher has attacked the Drakenstein Municipality saying that the spraying of oak trees in such close proximity to residential homes is ‘criminal and cannot be allowed to continue’. On the other hand, Dr Gerhard Verdoorn, of Griffon Poison Information Centre (a consultant to the agricultural industry), has lambasted the allegations of Tatib. Verdoorn says that Tatib’s accusations are made by persons who have no chemical, toxicological or medical background, and according to him, they are alarmists who wish to incite an outcry from the public. “If the public wants to believe that the annual spraying of oak trees alone is to blame for their sinus or hay-fever, then all industries must be banned, and vehicles taken off the roads.” Local farmer, Derek Clift, whose farm De Hoop is in the heart of Paarl, is also of the opinion that the likelihood of fungicides negatively affecting the public is minimal. “The products which we use are environmentally friendly and strictly controlled. If our vines and oak trees are not treated against Oidium, they will eventually die. “Paarl and Wellington are known as the pollen belt and this time of the year the valley has a very high pollen count which could cause discomfort to some residents.” Clift went on to point out that recently, in preparation for aerial spraying of fungicides to combat fruit flies in the Hex River Valley, a test run was performed by spraying water from crop-spray aeroplanes. “Shortly after this, the agricultural sector there was bombarded by complaints from residents of the Hex River Valley about being negatively affected by the ‘poison’. But it had only been water they were spraying.” Makes you think, doesn’t it.
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