Benefits for farmers
Paraquat has become one of the most widely used herbicides in the world thanks to one group of people - farmers. Though they span more than 100 countries and farm more than 100 different crops, farmers are united by their recognition of the benefits paraquat has to offer.
Rapid action
In Indonesia, paraquat’s rapid action allows farmers, who would normally harvest two direct-seeded rice crops each year, to plant and harvest a third crop (Sembiring & Kartaatamadja, 2003).
Paraquat’s speed of action quickly removes weed competition and allows rapid turn-around between crops. This is essential in many countries and regions such as China, Asia, and Latin America, where it enables small farmers to minimize the delay between crops and maximize income. The rapid action is also an important benefit for management of spray teams in plantation crops. Any missed area is visible within hours of spraying and can be quickly corrected.
Increased yield
The ability of paraquat to promote increased yield benefits farmers allows them to maximize income and/or food supplies.
Ability to work in all weather conditions
In Indonesia, tidal rice land is subject to two tidal inundations per day. Thanks to its broad weed spectrum and rapid rainfastness, paraquat - the only herbicide that can be used in this environment - has made rice farming viable in that country.
The rainfast properties of paraquat allow spraying in periods of unsettled weather, which is essential in many parts of the world, and provides farmers with maximum flexibility.
Reduced labor requirements
In Africa, Latin America, and Asia the use of paraquat on coffee plantations has reduced labor from 10-20 man days per one hectare of land (six times per season) for hand weeding to one day (three to four times per season) for spraying paraquat.
Paraquat is an ideal tool for inter-row weeding. Throughout the world it has released smallholder and subsistence farming families from much of the laborious and time-consuming hand weeding. The use of paraquat saves labor and allows farmers to take on more land or some form of paid labor. Perhaps most importantly this 'chemical hoe' has released children from these arduous tasks, enabling them to undertake an education.
In the image, field one (top and bottom left) shows the results of no-tillDescription Also known as conservation tillage or zero tillage is a way of growing crops from year to year without disturbing the soil through tillage ie cultivating the soil usually with tractor-drawn implements. Authoritative On-line References and Resources http://www.no-till.com/index.htm A portal for on-line information about no-till farming., pre-plant and inter-row paraquat application. Field two (top and bottom right) shows the results of farmers’ normal practice of “slash and burnDescription A form of agriculture, common in tropical regions, in which trees and natural undergrowth are cut down and burned, and crops are then grown on the bare soil for a few years until it loses its fertility. Authoritative On-line References and Resources http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/Deforestation/ A feature on deforestation posted on Nasa's Earth Observatory website - the story behind satellite images.” techniques and hand weeding.