CONSEQUENCES OF EUROPEAN PESTICIDE POLICIES ENFORCEMENT IN SOIL DISINFESTATION SECTOR

Abstract

Soil-borne pathogens cause serious losses in vegetable crops, especially in intensive cultivation cropping systems. Soil disinfestation is usually carried out for their containment and it has been based for years on the use of methyl bromide, whose phasing-out under the Montreal Protocol has been enabled by the presence of alternative products, such as 1,3-dichloropropene, chloropicrin and methyl isothiocyanate generators. The re-evaluation of pesticides which took place under the European Directive 91/414/EEC on Plant Protection Products dramatically reduced the arsenal of available fumigants in the Italian and European scenario and some phytopathological problems became difficult to manage. The European regulation 1107/2009, concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market introduced the evaluation of crop protection products through hazard-based cut-off criteria, resulting in the loss of active ingredients, with additional impact on the registration of novel products. The Directive 2009/128/EC, establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides, imposes practices and uses of pesticides that will strongly affect soilborne disease management in the future. Starting in 2014 all professional users have to implement the general principles of IPM, non-chemical methods must be preferred and the pesticides applied shall have the least side effects on non-target organisms and the environment. The search for effective, economically and environmentally sound methods for soil disinfestation remains a continuous and challenging task for industry, growers and researchers.