Plants of the Erythroxylum genus are also used by indigenous populations for medicinal and religious-cultural practices would also be at risk. Erythroxylum North American plants under stress could be infected by EN-4. Surprisingly, this seems to be the only research testing EN-4's ability to attack other plants. None of that, however, appears to trouble David Sands. He is listed as a major researcher of the fungus in the UN proposal, and it was he who first isolated EN-4 for ARS in Hawaii.
Sands has no shortage of influential contacts.
Sands did not return repeated phone calls for comment on this article. Mutagenicity is by far the most disturbing factor in attempting to use a Fusarium species as a bioherbicide. It is difficult, if not impossible, to control the spread of Fusarium species. The mutated fungi can cause disease in a large number of crops, including tomatoes, peppers, flowers, corn and vines, and are normally considered a threat to farmers as a pest, rather than as a pesticide. Fusarium species are more active in warm soils and can stay resident in the soil for years.