Spud growers to be hit hard by slug pellet ban
The withdrawal will limit growers to two products – metaldehyde and ferric phosphate – and will leave crops more susceptible to slug damage.
Independent potato specialist John Sarup uses methiocarb as his number one product against slugs and says the ban is a major setback to the potato sector. “When you look at the variety portfolio, Maris Piper is still head and shoulders above everything else in terms of the planted area and it is one of the most susceptible varieties we have, which makes the ban even more worrying,” he says. “I always preferred methiocarb products because I think they are more stable in wetter conditions and give the greatest reduction in tuber hollowing.”
Slug control is set to get more difficult with tighter controls over metaldehyde-based slug pellets likely in high-risk water catchment areas, which will leave ferric phosphate pellets as the only alternative.
Bayer CropScience, the only global supplier of methiocarb, says sales will probably be permitted until the end of August 2014, with growers having until the end of August 2015 to use up stocks.
Source: fwi.co.uk
