The future of new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) at the EU level lies in the European Court of Justice’s interpretation of existing law, Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis told EURACTIV.com, adding that the executive will act accordingly at the political level. “It’s an issue related to the interpretation of existing law. The European Commission has no […]
Crop protection has become one of the key concerns in meeting the never-ending demand for food across the globe. Based on the data from 2007 to 2013, the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) estimated the annual potential loss in the value of crops, such as corn and soybean due to weeds and pests, at […]
A recent study showed that the sales of pesticides for the control of corn leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis) increased 85% during the 2017-18 season. According to data from the survey, the growth of these sales contrasted with a 15% reduction in the corn planting area this summer. Estimates indicated that the sales of this kind of […]
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 […]