The Impact of the EU Neonicotinoid Ban on UK Carrot and Lettuce Production and Prospects for Future Aphid Management

Abstract

Since their introduction in the 1990s, neonicotinoid insecticides have become the most widely used group of insecticides in the world, effective against a wide range of agricultural pests, and used on over 140 crops in 120 countries. However, in 2013, the European Union (EU) implemented a moratorium on the use of pesticides containing three neonicotinoid active substances ‐ clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, banning their use initially on flowering crops such as oilseed rape and sunflowers. These restrictions were further extended in 2018, resulting in a complete ban on the outdoor use of these three active substances including crops such as cereals and sugar beet, and vegetables such as carrots and lettuce. Despite the restrictions affecting a wide range of crops, research into the impact of these restrictions on crop production has focussed mainly on oilseed rape (OSR) cultivation, with little attention being paid to other crop sectors, which have also had to adapt to the loss of neonicotinoids. In the United Kingdom (UK), neonicotinoids were mainly used in OSR, cereal and sugar beet production, but also on soft fruit, potatoes, vegetable crops such as carrot, and salad production. It has been widely documented that the ‘perfect storm’ of losing neonicotinoids, coupled with a warm winter, resulted in devastating impacts to the UK sugar beet industry in 2020 due to high numbers of overwintering aphids. Nevertheless, these same factors have also led to impacts on the UK carrot and lettuce industries, although far less is documented about how these sectors have responded to the neonicotinoid restrictions. This article examines how the loss of neonicotinoids has impacted carrot and lettuce production in the UK, and the future options for Integrated Pest Management of aphids on these crops. It is based partly on an online grower survey and interviews with agronomists conducted in 2021. It is argued that despite the neonicotinoid restrictions having adverse impacts on the UK agricultural sector, the trend of increasing bans on plant protection products is unlikely to slow, thus growers must be supported to adapt to this loss by strengthening their armoury of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) options.