Member States’ representatives in a Standing Committee have backed a proposal by the European Commission to further restrict the use of three active substances (imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, known as “neonicotinoids”) for which a scientific review concluded that their outdoor use harms bees. The protection of bees is an important issue for the Commission since […]
The Directorate General for Health (DG Sante) of the European Commission has confirmed that EU Member States will be invited to vote on its proposal to ban all outdoor uses of neonicotinoids on 27 April. European Commission restricted the use of 3 highly bee-toxic neonicotinoids in 2013. Imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam were then banned on […]
On April 20th, 2018 the Official Journal of the European Union has published COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2018/605 of 19 April 2018 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 by setting out scientific criteria for the determination of endocrine disrupting properties. This Regulation shall apply as of 20 October 2018, except for procedures where the […]
The European Union (EU) will start this June subject Uganda’s agro-products to rigorous checks due to the fall armyworm, a senior government official has said. Steven Byantware, Commissioner for Crop Protection told a farmers’ meeting that EU’s intention is to scrutinize Ugandan exports for the worms that are decimating crops. The fall armyworm is technically […]
A rapidly evolving pathogen from Europe may spell doom for India’s potato yield, an essential staple crop that also fetches good income to millions of farmers. Scientists at the West Bengal State University have found 19 unique and highly aggressive variants of Phytophthora infestans, a microorganism that causes late blight disease in potato shrinking it […]
The EuroBlight project is examining the ongoing evolution of the potato late blight pathogen (Phytophthora infestans). In 2017, almost 1500 samples from 16 countries in Europe were genotyped. The results indicate that new clones continue to spread. Latest findings Around 75% of the samples belonged to defined clonal lineages also observed in previous seasons. Some […]
New data from the Irish Department of Agriculture reveals that 3,135 tonnes of pesticides were used in Ireland in 2016. Pesticide sprays include herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and other industrial chemicals. The 2016 data points to an increase of 14 tonnes on the previous year, and a jump of 219 tonnes from 2013 – the year […]
The UK government has named 24 devolved areas where it wants to temporarily retain power following Brexit. Ministers in the Scottish and Welsh governments want subjects such as food labelling and animal welfare to come under their control. However, UK ministers are bidding to oversee those areas, and others on the list, when the UK […]
The Australian Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) recently issued a licence in response to application DIR 156, authorising the limited and controlled release (field trial) of buffalo grass genetically modified (GM) for herbicide (glyphosate ) tolerance and dwarf phenotype (shorter stature and slowed growth). The field trial is authorised to take place between April […]