Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 10
Anticrop Biological
Weapons Programs
SIMON M. WHITBY
This chapter gives an account of the anticrop weapons ac-
tivities of various countries from 1945 to the present day. It offers an ap-
preciation of national programs devoted to the development of plant
pathogens as weapons. Additionally, as a result of the biological action of
certain chemical anticrop plant growth regulators 1 —substances consid-
ered midspectrum agents, between traditional biological agents and clas-
sical chemical agents (see Chapter 12)—the development and widespread
use of chemical herbicides in Southeast Asia are also briefly discussed.
The chapter gives only an overview of aspects of programs related to the
development of agents and munitions; consequently, it necessarily ne-
glects areas of vital importance in developing a more complete apprecia-
tion of the history and, where it has occurred, the consequences of the
use of this form of warfare.
Anticrop Biological Weapons
In national anticrop biological weapons (BW) programs, the develop-
ment of chemical plant growth regulators as weapons was intrinsically
linked to developments in the area of anticrop BW, with parallel R&D ef-
forts toward the common goal of the destruction of plant life. These ef-
forts were an integral and important component of North Atlantic collab-
oration between the UK and US in the postwar period. Too little is still
known about the anticrop programs in the former Soviet Union and Iraq
for them to feature in this discussion.
The first notable contribution to the literature on anticrop biological
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