Neonicotinoids and Bees: Separating Fact From Fiction
October 7, 2015
From: EuropeanSeed
The seed industry speaks out on the ban of neonicotinoids seed treatments as the full impact of the ban is felt on EU crop production.
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In this respect, these stakeholders have been supported by some rather unlikely allies. The British Bee Keepers Association, along with a growing number of other similar organisations in Europe, expressed concern that the restriction on neonicotinoids may force farmers to use older technologies which may have a more detrimental impact on the health of pollinators like bees. Certainly, market research suggests that growers, in an effort to combat alarmingly high levels of flea beetle infestations, have fallen back to using such older pesticides and spraying their crops more frequently. In fact, the leading voice for Europe’s producers, COPA-COGECA expects to see EU oilseed rape (OSR) production to drop by 10.6 per cent. They also anticipate a 7.5 per cent decline in cereal output this year, and attribute these precipitous declines primarily to the ban.
At the EU country-level we’ve witnessed severe crop damage:
- Germany has experienced a six per cent decline of OSR growing area. Ninety per cent of OSR damaged and 30 per cent of the 1.309 million hectares was seen to suffer from severe flea beetle attack. A lot more insecticide sprays now. There’s also confirmed increase in resistance issues towards pyrethroid insecticides.
- In the UK, 38,000 ha were not planted due to lack of crop protection products. In total, yield of OSR in the UK decreased by 60,000 ha or 10 per cent primarily due to flea beetle. Foliar insecticide spraying increased four-fold, reaching 100 per cent treated area in parts of the east and southeast.
- And in Sweden, the area of spring oilseed rape significantly decreased: 54,000 ha (2013) -> 14,700 ha (2014) -> 6,000 ha (2015) = 90 per cent reduction. Increase in number of sprays from 2 per ha to 5.5 sprays per ha.
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