February 17, 2016
UK body to ban sales and use of chlorpyrifos from April
Permits for crop protection products containing chlorpyrifos will no longer be issued by the UK Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) from April 1 this year, Herald Scotland reported.
The development could led to a depletion of products critical for crops security in Scotland. CRD's decision means that chlorpyrifos products are forbid from sales, distribution and application.
"It is imperative that legislators appreciate that the current rate of withdrawal of pesticides from the market is likely to leave farming at significant risk of being unable to meet the challenge of sustaining production in the face of pest and disease pressure," Allan Bowie, president of the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS), said.
He believed that use of chlorpyrifos products are "very carefully controlled" and poses very minimal risk when used in accordance with recommendations.
"Withdrawing them on the basis of their intrinsic hazard is a recipe for major crop failure and food price inflation in the future," Bowie added.
Marketed as Dursban WG and Equity, chlorpyrifos-based insecticides have been employed for years against pests including aphids, caterpillars, wheat bulb fly and leatherjackets.
Its future exclusion from legal use worried NFUS which is ensuring continual crop protection by "investigating all available options".
According to Bowie, manufacturers and distributors are expected to recover, re-label or dispose chlorpyrifos products until September 30 this year.
"We have discussed with the Agricultural Industries Confederation the issue of returning unused stock to merchants, and we understand that open stock will not be able to be returned, and that unopened stock is a matter for individual customers to discuss with their merchant," Bowie added. "That will give those with stocks on farm a headache on disposal."
The only exception for chlorpyrifos usage is its role as a brassica seedling drench from automated gantry sprayers.
- Herald Scotland
