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Daniel12345 starts with ... Gday, I recently purchased a house with three very large macadamia trees.. One half dead, the other in great condition and one that is a skeleton only- no leaves - initially i wondered why only one tree was growing well and the other two not so well..…. My wife, child and i have been collecting and consuming the Macadamias from the soil under all trees for the past 4 weeks…. Yesterday i was chatting to my neighbour who advised that the old owner poisoned two of the macadamia trees… At first it puzzled me as to why he would do such a thing but nonetheless whats done is done- and whilst one might survive, the other is beyond repair…. I don't know what the tree was poisoned with (i.e. could have been zero, roundup, diesel etc) but there are a number of holes at the base of two of the trees….. I guess my concern now is the fact that we have consumed macadamias underneath these two poisoned trees and whether or not in doing so we have basically consumed albeit small amounts of the poison itself?????……… I am no biologist but with the rage about how everything causes cancer i would like to think that the poison simply doesn't spread to the macadamia fruit itself but rather just effects the roots, trunk etc and transportation of nutrients…… Thought someone with knowledge of trees (i.e. a tree doctor) may be able to assist?? My neighbour seems to think that the macadamias themselves would be unaffected, and another uneducated friend thinks that regardless of what weed killer is used it wouldnt make it to the macadamia seeds… Interested on your thoughts..thanks | About the Author Daniel12345 Wollongong 3rd July 2015 8:22pm #UserID: 11886 Posts: 26 View All Daniel12345's Edible Fruit Trees |
Manfred says... Perhaps they were simply poisoned accidentally by application of phosphorus? Why would anyone deliberately poison a large macadamia tree? Why would anyone who did want to poison a macadamia do it with anything more complicated than an overapplication of phosphorus eg by superphosphate. The contrast between the three trees suggests an accidental poisoning rather than any deliberate action. You don't mention which of the three have holes at the base. Irregardless, I agree with your friend and neighbour, a plant won't put anything into a seed which the seed doesn't need. It isn't a part of the plant's vascular system, and it won't substitute any poison (ie organic or inorganic contaminant) for any necessary nutrient. If you were eating the leaves, roots or stem it would be different. Don't sue me if you die though! (Confession- I have a sick macadamia because I was foolishly overenthusiastic with some crude chemical fertiliser one day a few years ago. Not malicious, just unthinking. It lives, it still has nuts, but it looks awful. It will eventually recover.) | About the Author Manfred tully 3rd July 2015 8:50pm #UserID: 9565 Posts: 243 View All Manfred's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Daniel12345 says... Thanks heaps Manfred for the response… Yes, beats me as to why anyone would want to deliberately poison a macadamia tree; but the truth is that yes unfortunately at least one has been deliberately poisoned and possibly two…. The trees are just on the outside of the border of our house property which backs onto bushland and i would say the previous owner wanted one to no longer exist- so used his own dodgy means to ensure the tree would die....… My current neighbour advised that the previous owner poisoned one of the trees (the complete dead one) and possibly two…. Upon looking closely i do notice small holes around the trunk of the tree…. Yes, please correct me if i am wrong but i would like to think that a) the poison regardless of what it is (diesel, roundup, zero - can't think of anything else?)won't travel into the seed/ macadamia nut. b) Even if the poison did travel into the nut the amount would be minuscule (trace amounts) due to the large size of the tree.. c) given no immediate negative symptoms we can't have been exposed to much each time anyways... d) whilst most poisons will make you sick on the spot due to exposure (i.e. roundup, zero, diesel etc)- an exposure here and there shouldn't result in future effects like cancer etc….. e) i figure like anything in life it is the dose that makes the poison and surely the amount that makes its way into the macadamia nut is minimal if any… hope you agree.. cheers. | About the Author Daniel12345 Wollongong 3rd July 2015 9:54pm #UserID: 11886 Posts: 26 View All Daniel12345's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 3rd July 2015 9:49pm | |
Manfred says... I can't see that the plant would transport any unnecessary substance to its seeds during their development. The seed is entirely a product of the plant unlike those parts of the plant that hold outside substances because they are included in the nutrients and water that the plant takes up from outside. If an animal eats a contaminated fat it can store that contaminant in its own body fat, but a plant makes its own fats and oils in its seeds, and doesn't need to include any contaminants. Certainly, if it was forced to by the particular characteristics of the toxin, the amount would be minimal. You need to distinguish between acute poisoning, which makes you sick immediately, and chronic poisoning, which encompasses a buildup of toxins. If you eat huge amounts of slightly poisonous substances you might eventually get sick. I think though, that the toxins normally available to the householder would be of the milder sort. You can't just wander into Bunnings and buy a litre of gramoxone, garlon or 2,4 D. Diesel isn't all that toxic and works by foliar application, (not sure of the specific mechanism of toxicity) so I think you can discount that entirely. I'd be comfortable about eating the nuts. | About the Author Manfred tully 4th July 2015 10:12am #UserID: 9565 Posts: 243 View All Manfred's Edible Fruit Trees |