Neonicitinoides

valerieroberts

I’m quite sad to think that all the care that has been taken in gardens and allotments to help our bees and pollinators survive, have been given such a set back by the governments plan to let farmers spray their sugar beet crops with the above killer. ( that I can’t even spell). I hope I’ve got the wrong info.
Valerie 

pansyface

No, you are correct.

Dovefromabove

There is so much misinformation out there. 

The permission is not for spraying sugar beet crops … it is only for the use, if the incidence of aphids in an area reaches a predetermined threshold, of seed which has been treated with neonicotinoids. 

It should also be remembered that sugar beet is a biennial plant which is harvested at the end of its first growing season, so long before it flowers so it s not visited by bees and other pollinating insects in that way. 

There is some concern that there may be some leeching of neonicotinoids into the soil from the seeds but this will be far less than in the days when the crop used to be sprayed. 

valerieroberts

@Dovefromabove. Many thanks for your response. I felt so sad that the care we had take throughout the year was to be lost by the use of this pesticide. Glad you have made it so much better than I thought. Valerie 

Dovefromabove

Thank you @valerieroberts 😊 

This explains how the permission will work https://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/sugar-beet/defra-approves-neonics-seed-treatment-for-sugar-beet-crops. 

You’ll see that if the treated seed is used, there will be a ban on the planting of flowering crops for the next 32 months in order to protect pollinating insects. 

The same permission was in place last year but not used because a cold spell of weather meant the aphid numbers didn’t meet the threshold.