This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Friday, 19 April 2024
Colour-Coordinated 'Weeds'?
'Weed' is a weird term. It basically means 'a plant growing, where humans don't want it'. Climate change might well mean our species having to replace some conventional crops with plants currently designated 'weeds'. Wheat; rice and maize etc. may be unable to cope with climate change. Many 'weeds' are actually nutrious, as well as being better able to cope with climate challenges. It's been suggested, that genetic modification (GM) techniques could be used to introduce distinctive 'colour' markers (from other plants?) into these new crops. This would enable automated 'weeding robots' to be programmed to remove plants that lack these colour markers. These 'new' crops could consequently be grown without the need to use herbicides or to have humans, labour-intensively removing 'weeds' by hand. The 'colours', of course, could be wavelengths (like ultraviolet) invisible to the human eye (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/17/gene-editing-crops-to-be-colourful-could-aid-weeding-say-scientists). Strange, how interchangeable 'weed' and 'crop' would be in our 'brave new world'!
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