Minister Schouten wants a ban on the stacked use of crop protection products with the same active substance. Her next step is to plead with the European Commission for such a ban across Europe. She will explain these plans during the General Consultation on crop protection products this afternoon.
In a letter she sent to the House just before the weekend, she writes that she finds the stacked use of crop protection products undesirable. “This can lead to environmental standards being exceeded.” Earlier this year, she therefore asked the Ctgb to issue an opinion on this subject.
Four active ingredients
In its advice, the Commission looked at both structural violations of the admission standards for active substances in surface water and current agricultural practice. Based on this, the Ctgb sees sufficient reason to intervene in the authorization of plant protection products based on the active substances abamectin, deltamethrin, esfenvalerate and chlorantraniliprole. These four substances are most often found in exceedances in surface water.
In the coming weeks, the Ctgb will consult with the relevant authorization holders about a change in the label of the products based on these active substances. Hans van Boven of the Ctgb expects the new label to come into effect before the 2021 cultivation season.
According to the Ctgb, stacking is if one or more crop protection product (s) with a different trade name but with the same active substance (s) are used on the same plot that has been treated with a specific plant protection product within a defined period. The Commission considers stacked use undesirable, because it can lead to risks that are not identified in the current EU harmonized risk assessment for the environment.
Ctgb: No bottlenecks due to prohibition
According to Van Boven, a ban on this will not lead to bottlenecks in the crops. “Stacking is not the intention. When evaluating plant protection products, the number of uses stated on the label is considered. If a label states that a pest can be controlled with four applications, then that should be the case in practice. If another agent with the same active ingredient is then used, you may end up with eight applications on that plot. The admission has not been passed on for that. ”
According to the Ctgb, stacking can in theory be done with all means permitted within a specific application or crop, or even across several different crop types that are cultivated on the same plot within the year. There is no overview available of agents or active substances that are (or never) stacked in practice. That is why the Ctgb reasoned back from the effect: surface water was chosen as an indicator, because water organisms are very sensitive.
Exceedances in surface water
For a number of substances, relatively large non-compliance with the standards of crop protection products or residues thereof in the surface water has been observed for several years. The Ctgb has designated these substances as a potential candidate staple-sensitive substance. After deduction of substances that are no longer authorized in the Netherlands, the four substances abamectin, deltamethrin, esfenvalerate and chlorantraniliprole remained. The ban on stacked use will apply to all existing (approximately 40) and new authorized products based on one or more of these four substances.
