Strict new rules on pesticides from Brussels could see almost 80 active ingredients taken off the market in Ireland and across Europe.

A vote this week to establish the definition of potentially-harmful endocrine disruptors effectively seals the fate of many current EU pesticides.

Ireland was one of 21 member states to vote in favour. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals found to interfere with human hormones.

The European Crop Protection Association published a list of actives that could potentially be lost, depending on the criteria ultimately employed, and it contains many actives used by farmers in this country.

The list of fungicides included cyproconazole (Cielex, Furlong), difenconazole (Score), epoxiconazole (Opus, Strand, etc), fluazinam (Shirlan), folpet (Phoenix), metconazole (Caramba), prochloraz (Sportak), propiconazole (Tilt), prothioconazole (Proline) and tebuconazole (Folicur).

The fungicide ingredient Chlorothalonil (Bravo) is also under pressure from legislation, and could be one of the first to be restricted and potentially removed from the market.

The herbicides listed include asulam (Asulox), chlorotoluron (Tower), clopyralid (Dow Shield, GrazonPro, Thistlex), fluazifop-P-butyl (Fusilade Max), fluroxpyr (Starane, Hurler, etc), glyphosate, MCPB, metribuzin (Sencorex Flow), pendimethalin (Stomp, Flight, etc) and triflusulfuron (Debut).

And from the small selection of insecticides, actives such as esfenvalerate (Sumi Alpha), dimethoate, deltamethrin (Decis), lambda-cyhalothrin (Karate) and Spirotetramat (Movento) are on the list.

Veto

The European Commission will now send the criteria for approval to the Council and the European Parliament.

  • Read more in next week’s Irish Farmers Journal.

    • Read more

    Pulse crops may lose EFA status due to EFA pesticide ban

    More than rush spray in jeopardy