Trade body British Summer Fruits (BSF) has refuted claims made in a recent study which said that pesticide use on Scottish soft-fruit farms has gone up.
The study, published online for the Scottish government, surveyed data collected from 50 holdings that represented 32 per cent of the total crop area grown in Scotland. It stated that the total quantity of pesticides applied in Scotland has increased since the last survey from 17,505kg in 2010 to 19,619kg in 2012.
But Laurence Olins, chair of BSF, said results from the survey should not be taken as an indication of excessive usage of pesticides by soft-fruit growers, or that there is an increasing trend of pesticide usage.
He said: “Of the holdings surveyed, nearly half were from very small producers, who do not generally use protective crop covers so are more likely to use fungicides to control botrytis which is induced by wet weather – especially in 2012, Scotland’s 17th wettest year on record.”
BSF technical director Richard Harnden added there has been a change in the active ingredients used by growers within the time period surveyed. “This is demonstrated by the increased use of potassium hydrogen carbonate for powdery mildew control. While this material is approved for use on crops under the UK’s pesticide regulations, it is a commodity substance commonly known as baking powder used for leavening in bread and cakes, rather than a formulated pesticide.
'Another good example is sulphur, the second most commonly applied pesticide in 2012. Again this is a naturally occurring substance rather than a pesticide. There will be little or no deleterious impact on the natural environment from using these types of ‘pesticides’.”
He added: “Results from this survey require further careful interpretation.”
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