Centre restricts use of common weedicide glyphosate
- October 31, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Centre restricts use of common weedicide glyphosate
Subject: Environment
Context :The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare issued a notice restricting the use of glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, citing health hazards for humans and animals. Only authorised Pest Control Operators are allowed to use it.
Concept :
- The notification was based on a 2019 report by the Government of Kerala on prohibiting the distribution, sale and use of glyphosate and its derivatives.
- Earlier, state governments of Maharashtra, Telangana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh have tried similar steps but failed.
Use in India
- In India, glyphosate has been approved for use only in tea plantations and non-plantation areas accompanying the tea crop. Use of the substance anywhere else is illegal.
- However, a 2020 study by PAN India on the state of glyphosate use in the country had worrying findings.
- Glyphosate was being used in more than 20 crop fields, it was found
- Pesticide Action Network (PAN) India believes stricter action is needed.
Glyphosate
- It was developed in 1970, and its scientific name is N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine under the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) system of nomenclature
- Its molecular formula is C3H8NO5P
- Glyphosate is an active ingredient in weed killer products and is an odourless white
- It is applied to the leaves of plants to kill weeds.
- It was first registered for use by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 1974
- This herbicide is used in agriculture, forestry on lawns and gardens, and for weeds in industrial areas.
Herbicides
- Herbicide is an agent, usually chemical, for killing or inhibiting the growth of unwanted plants, such as residential or agricultural weeds and invasive species.