The Soil Association has written to NFU president Peter Kendall asking him to withdraw comments made about the organic farming group because of its opposition to the pesticide aldicarb.

Mr Kendall told the Oxford Farming Conference in January that the Soil Association’s criticism of aldicarb was “scaremongering and misinformation”.

But the association has asked him to retract the comments following the Pesticide Safety Directorate’s decision on 7 March to ban the chemical.

The PSD said it had decided to revoke authorised use of aldicarb on potatoes, carrots and parsnips with immediate effect, as it generated residues levels above new Maximum Recommended Levels.