Arable


Seed treatment will help secure future for


sugar beet growers • Green light for neonic seed this spring • ‘No alternative’ against virus yellows • Special conditions limit risks to bees


P


ermission for growers to use specially treated sugar beet seed to combat virus yellows this spring will help secure a future for the crop, say farm leaders. An emergency application for farm- ers to use neonicotinoid treated Cruis- er SB seed was granted by Defra sec- retary George Eustice last month. It follows a devastating season during which many crops were devastated by virus yellows.


Similar permission has been grant- ed for growers in other European coun- tries. Neonicotinoid treated seed can now be used as long as strict condi- tions are met – despite concern that the chemicals are harmful to bees and other pollinators.


Defra said it granted permission because sugar beet yields were sig- nifi cantly reduced in the 2020 season due to virus yellows. Similar condi- tions in 2021 would be likely to pre- sent similar dangers, it warned. Sug- ar beet was a non-fl owering crop and the risks to bees from the crop itself were acceptable.


Limited usage Mr Eustice concluded that in relation to the requirements for emergency au- thorisation the case for need had been met, that the use of the product would be limited and controlled, and that the


potential benefi t from the use of the product outweighed any environmen- tal risks.


Conditions attached to the emer- gency authorisation include the re- quirement that no fl owering crops are planted as following crops for a peri- od of at least 22 months – with an ex- tended period of exclusion for oilseed rape of 32 months. The application was made by NFU


Sugar and British Sugar. NFU Sugar chairman Michael Sly


said: “Any treatment will be used in a limited and controlled way on sugar beet, a non-fl owering crop, and only when the scientifi c threshold has been independently judged to have been met.”


Fight continues Virus yellows disease is having an un- precedented impact on Britain’s sug- ar beet crop, with yield losses of up to 80%. “This authorisation is desperate- ly needed to fi ght this disease. It will be crucial in ensuring that Britain’s sugar beet growers continue to have viable farm businesses.”


British Sugar agriculture director Sugar beet seed 8 MIDLAND FARMER • FEBRUARY 2021


Peter Watson said neonicotinoid seed treatment would help growers tackle virus yellows disease this year while a longer-term solution is sought. This includes sugar beet seed bred to be re- sistant to the disease. Mr Watson said: “The situation faced by growers has been unprece- dented and this application was a last resort. While there will be restrictions for the following crop, the treatment will be able to be used in a limited and controlled way when high aphid con- ditions are expected. “We are continuing our work as an industry to tackle virus yellows in the medium and long term, including through seed breeding programmes.”


Post-emergence herbicide has ‘added significance’


A new post-emergence sugar beet herbicide combines contact and residual activity against a range of broad- leaved and grass weeds. Launched by Bayer, Betanal Tandem contains etho- fumesate and phenmedipham in a suspension concen- trate. It is authorised for use in sugar beet, fodder beet and mangels, says Lizzie Carr-Archer, the company’s root crop campaign manager. “Betanal Tandem offers greater ease of use over


straights and is approved for use with Dow Shield 400 (clopyralid) and Goltix 70 SC (metamitron) which will help to extend its fl exibility in tackling volunteer pota- toes and mayweed,” she says. Weed control in sugar beet has added signifi cance for 2021 after Defra granted permission for neonicotinoid- treated seed. A condition of the permission means fl ow- ering weeds in and around sugar beet crops must be con- trolled to protect benefi cial insects. “Trials indicate that Betanal Tandem delivers strong control when applied with an adjuvant oil such as Mero, a methylated rape oil, with the fi rst application timed for when the majority of the crop plants have reached fully expanded cotyledon stage,” says Mrs Carr-Archer. “Betanal Tandem has outperformed other two-way formulations in trials, most notably on fat-hen, black- bindweed, small nettle and annual mercury with a clear uplift in effi cacy compared with Powertwin. As a result, we expect Betanal Tandem to be the herbicide of choice for 2021.”


Betanal Tandem can bee used in sugar beet, fodder beet and mangels.


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