Neonicotinoid Treatment Approved

An emergency application for farmers to use Neonicotinoid seed treatments on oilseed rape has been approved.   However it will be limited to 5% of the total crop (around 30,000 Ha).  The NFU made the application after an earlier bid for approval to use the seed treatment on 54% of the rape area was turned down.  The products authorised under the emergency exemption are Modesto (Bayer) and Cruiser OSR (Syngenta).  The main target pest is cabbage stem flea beetle which caused severe damage in a number of rape crops last autumn.  Only farms in four English counties, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Suffolk will be able to use the product.  These areas have been identified as having the greatest risk of attacks.  The total area of rape grown in these counties last year was around 90,000 hectares, so only a third of the crop can be treated.  Farmers using treated seed will be asked to take part in a study to measure the effect of the neonicotinoids.