Banned pesticide given the green light again
Despite the harm it causes bees, a neonicotinoid has been approved for ‘emergency use’ on sugar beet
In mid-January, the UK government confirmed that if conditions were met, then the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam could be used on sugar beet to tackle Virus Yellows disease. This is the fourth year in a row that the pesticide has been approved for emergency use, and wildlife charities are calling on the government to find alternatives.
Neonicotinoids, often shortened to ‘neonics’, are a group of insecticides that are used to kill pest invertebrates such as aphids that feed on crops, and in veterinary medicine to tackle ticks and fleas.
“It is shocking that once again, the government has gone against the advice of its own expert advisors and decided to put wildlife at risk,” says David Smith, social change and advocacy officer at Buglife.
“Thiamethoxam is highly toxic to bees and aquatic invertebrates and is known to persist in the environment long after application. Neonicotinoids were banned due to their dangerous effects; the ban must be upheld, and their use stopped if we are to have any chance of meeting targets to halt the decline of nature.”
Virus Yellows disease is a complex of three viruses that is spread via sap-feeding aphids. It results in a reduction in the size and sugar content of affected sugar beet and can make a plant vulnerable to other infections. In 2020, the disease led to yield losses of up to 80 per cent. Due to the ban, the emergency use of thiamethoxam on sugar beet seeds to tackle the disease is only allowed when a certain national threshold of the virus is predicted by scientists at Rothamsted Research. This year’s threshold is set to 64 per cent.
“DEFRA’s granting of our joint application with NFU Sugar for emergency use of a neonicotinoid seed treatment is an important decision which, if it is needed, will enable the UK’s sugar beet growers to protect their 2024 crops from Virus Yellows disease, while work continues on finding a long-term solution to the problem,” says Dan Green, agriculture director at British Sugar.
“Any use of the seed treatment is subject to strict controls, including that a bare minimum amount is used, there is a restriction on flowering crops being planted in the same field following seed-treated sugar beet, and growers must take part in knowledge exchange programmes.”