Wednesday, May 25, 2011
(This story was originally published Tuesday.)
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Food harvests in Iraq and Syria are at risk from infestations of an invasive alien weed, the United Nations' food body said Tuesday, warning that the deadly plant could spread to other countries if unchecked.
More than 60% of Syria's crops have been hit by silverleaf nightshade, a relative of the tomato originally hailing from tropical America, where it is damaging olive, cotton and wheat crops.
A similar mass infestation has been reported in northwest Iraq and there are concerns that other countries could be at risk after the weed was spotted at sites in Lebanon and Jordan, the Food and Agriculture Organization said.
"This particular type of weed competes aggressively with crops for nutrients whilst its deep root system dries down soil moisture," Gualbert Gbehounou, FAO Weed Officer, said a statement.
Likely spread through untested shipments of agricultural products, silverleaf nightshade poses a particular threat to biodiversity in these Middle Eastern countries because it has no natural predators.
The FAO said it is implementing a project to assist farmers manage and prevent further spread of silverleaf nightshade in all four countries by enforcing crop rotation with competitor plants and encouraging governments to review their regulatory environments.
"We want to introduce an integrated weed management approach, which means we will not focus on herbicides," said Gbehounou.
-By Caroline Henshaw, Dow Jones Newswires; 4420-7842-9478; caroline.henshaw@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-05-11 0351GMT
