Neonicotinoids ban makes pest control harder for OSR
January 24, 2014
From: FarmersWeekly
As growers and agronomists look ahead to growing oilseed rape without crucial insecticide seed treatments, they are told that pest control will be far from easy. Adam Clarke reports
Multiple pyrethroid sprays to control flea beetles and reliance on just one product for aphid control will be the short-term solution for oilseed rape growers after the neonicotinoid seed treatment ban.
That was the message from entomologist and crop protection expert Alan Dewar, who described the ban as “a scandal” and not based on scientific fact.
The European Union ban on the active ingredients included in products such as Cruiser and Modesto came into force in December 2013 due to their perceived threat to bee health.
These products are the most effective way of protecting oilseed rape crops against flea beetles and turnip yellows virus carrying peach potato aphids in the autumn.
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