The consequences and implications of growing sugar beet without neonicotinoid seed treatments

摘要

The neonicotinoid seed treatments were first introduced and used by European sugar beet growers during the early 1990s to provide targeted protection against a range of different pest problems including the soil pest complex, mangold fly and virus-carrying aphids. The seed treatments had become an important tool for many growers to protect against yield losses from these pests. However, on 27 April 2018 a decision was taken by the EU to extend the restrictions of these products, first introduced on flowering crops in 2013, to cover all outdoor uses of these seed treatments, including their use on sugar beet. Therefore, the next root crop planted in the spring of 2019 will potentially be the first that has not been protected by neonicotinoid seed treatments for 25 years. In this paper the consequences and implications of the EU ban will be discussed, particularly in relation to the lack of immediate alternative solutions for several key pests, and the need for greater research and collaboration to identify new alternative integrated approaches to limit the future impact of the pests and associated virus diseases.