Live mite presence
Live mite presence
justifies treatment
SUPERIOAT agent Peter Glossop maintains that Mr Hosfords Act-ellic treatment was justified on the grounds that live mites were present in the grain even after it had been passed through an aspirator cleaner.
"Mites have been a particular problem this year after the mild humid winter, and our customers dont want them in their grain. If we are still finding them after cleaning what more can we do?"
But he acknowledges that his advice to treat might have been different had the oats been destined for a UK outlet where the pests could have had less time to multiply.
Organophosphorus products have not had the best of press recently, admits Syngentas Ian Stott. "But in terms of mammalian toxicity there are tremendous differences between them. Its worth remembering that Actellic is still recommended for use in cheese stores and for controlling bed bugs in domestic situations." Grain treated at the approved rate one day may safely be consumed the next, he adds.
Ideally Mr Hosford should have applied the chemical to the whole bulk through specialist equipment, and the liquid formulation would have been cheaper, says Mr Stott.
"Although I have no scientific basis for it, I believe the number of farms with resistant mites is far fewer than those with resistant blackgrass."
• For more on mites, see page 50.