Glyphosate

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Key updates-

• From now, glyphosate will be applied only through pest control operators (PCOs).
• PCOs are licensed to use deadly chemicals for treating pests such as rodents.  
• To implement the order, all certificates of registration for the chemical that companies have to get for its manufacture or sale have now to be returned to the registration committee.
• The order says if any company fails to return the registration certificates within three months, appropriate action will be taken under the Insecticides Act of 1968.
• Glyphosate is already banned in some states.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer published a study in 2015 that said glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans”.

What is glyphosate?

• Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant. 
• It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by inhibiting the plant enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase. 
• It is used to kill weeds, especially annual broadleaf weeds and grasses that compete with crops.
• Its herbicidal effectiveness was discovered by Monsanto chemist John E. Franz in 1970. Monsanto brought it to market for agricultural use in 1974 under the trade name Roundup. 
• Glyphosate has been majorly used in tea plantations in India where it is applied to control herbicides. The chemical is also used on non-crop areas to control unwanted growth.
• These include areas alongside irrigation channels, railway sidings, fallow land, bunds, farm borders, parks, industrial and military premises, airports, power stations, etc.
• The use of glyphosate rose manifold once Ht BT cotton started getting illegally cultivated in India.

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