There’s little doubt that the unexpected ban on paraquat will come as a huge blow to potato growers. It was envisaged that distributors and growers would have until 11 July 2008 to use existing stocks. But the removal of paraquat has come out of the blue, is not based on sound science and will leave a big hole in a rapidly shrinking armoury of available herbicides. That’s why we are contesting the decision on behalf of British potato growers.

The announcement was made at the end of last month. Sweden, supported by Austria, Denmark and Finland, asked the European Court that paraquat be removed from the European Commission’s Annex 1 list of authorised substances. Although approved for use in Europe, and accepted onto the list, after a rigorous review overseen by the UK’s Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD), the broad spectrum herbicide has been banned in these countries for some time.

But it was not environmental, human safety or any new scientific evidence that caused the ban to be upheld by the court. Sweden challenged the legal basis that had allowed paraquat to be included on Annex 1. In other words, thanks to a legal loophole, that has nothing to do with the safety or efficacy of this valuable herbicide, growers face the task, and the financial implications, of managing without it.

We have written to the government, the Commission requesting the validity of this ban is challenged and as a first step PSD have announced that they are seeking further clarification of the court’s decision.

Through the BPC Treater Group, we keep all potato herbicides constantly under review. We assess their effectiveness and advice on how they are best used to maximum benefit for growers with minimum effect on the environment, operator and bystander. There are key circumstances where paraquat is a vital and effective tool. These include:

As an early post-emergence spray - the first flush of weeds can be taken out quickly and easily with minimum effect to the crop whereas using selective chemistry is more expensive

A quick and convenient treatment for outgrade piles. These are a key source of blight, and a quick kill of green cover is an essential part of a control strategy to remove the threat of disease spreading to neighbouring crops. BPC-funded work carried out at SAC has shown lower levels of sporulation result where paraquat is used, rather than glyphosate.

Of course the BPC will continue its ongoing work assessing how growers can make the best use of herbicides, and we are currently addressing how the potential gap left by paraquat can best be filled. But British growers face an ever-slimmer choice of tools that ensure we bring a crop to market, and so the Commission must be clear that the loss of a key herbicide will have implications for the competitiveness of European farmers. We cannot have our industry held to ransom in such a way over a legal technicality.