Crossword Genius

Destroyer of trees and fruit initiated by a man (5,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

agent orange

'destroyer of trees' is the definition.
(chemical agent used to destroy trees in war)

'fruit initiated by a man' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'fruit' could be 'orange' (orange is a kind of fruit) and 'orange' is found in the answer.
'a' is within the answer.
'man' could be 'gent' (gent is a kind of man) and 'gent' is found in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'and' is the link.

(Other definitions for agent orange that I've seen before include "Poisonous chemical" , "Nasty American stripper" , "What defoliates" , "killer in Vietnam" , "Dangerous chemical" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app