Say Goodbye to Neonics, Say Hello to Weevils
December 1, 2017
From: Horticulture Week
Fern grower makes neonicotinoid plea
Bob Hollister of specialist fern growers Country Garden Plant Sales has made a plea to for the continued use of neonicotinoids on non-flowering plants.
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Hollister fears that a blanket ban on the incorporation of neonicotinoids into growing media will cause unnecessary problems for many ‘non flowering’ plant producers. Conifers, ferns and grasses can all be susceptible to vine weevil, which has been safely treated with neonicotinoids for decades.
Hollister added: “Were a ban to be implemented, retailers would have to accept that some stock may well contain weevils; the alternatives are a fair bit less than 100% effective at present. I can’t see this happening anytime soon; but what I can see as a result of the withdrawal of neonics is a massive increase in vine weevil numbers in nurseries and garden centres over the next decade.”
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