Dichlorvos suspension hits green pest battle
Dichlorvos suspension hits green pest battle
ENVIRONMENTALLY-SOUND pest control in greenhouses could be jeopardised by a decision to suspend an organophosphate insecticide, warns a manufacturer.
As a precaution, ministers suspended the sale of products containing dichlorvos, which is used in the horticultural industry and some household fly killers, last Friday. The decision follows independent advice from the Advisory Committee on Pesticides that there is a remote but potentially significant carcinogenic risk for those exposed to it.
The move will put severe pressure on growers of protected ornamentals, says Malcolm Nursey, managing director of dichlorvos supplier Luxan. It has a particularly important role in the £20m a year chrysanthemum industry and in cucumber production.
"It is used in the horticulture industry to clean up a pest problem before using integrated pest methods, such as biological controls. I am quite sure there will be a serious problem for some growers cleaning up pest pressure without this product."
Luxan has already spent two-and-a-half years consulting with government on the safety of dichlorovs and hopes the scientific research it has collated will help overturn the products suspension.
"We have lost too many products, especially in minor crops," says Mr Nursey.
Normal practice is to seal and evacuate greenhouses prior to use, making exposure to dichlorvos minimal, he adds.
Although sales are suspended, storage and use of dichlorvos products remains legal, provided label instructions are followed. *