Pesticide use on soft fruit in Scotland rose over the period between 2010 and 2012, according to the latest survey compiled for the Scottish government.
The total quantity of pesticides applied in Scotland has increased since the last survey from 17,505kg in 2010 to 19,619kg in 2012.
In 2012, despite a 19 per cent reduction in crop area, the area treated by pesticides decreased by only 4 per cent.
The study, published on the Scottish government’s website, said that the increase in overall pesticide use was mainly driven by greater application of fungicides. It suggested that increased fungicide use may have been used to counter disease and rot caused by bad weather in 2012. Scottish rainfall in that year was 28 per cent greater than in 2010.
It also showed that the use of chlorpyrifos and lambda-cyhalothrin were the two most widely used insecticides in 2012 (applied to 1,406 and 917 ha respectively). In 2010 the two most commonly used insecticides were pirimicarb and chlorpyrifos (1,606 and 1,579 ha respectively).
Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide that has been linked to ill health in agricultural workers.
The data came from a survey of crops cultivated outdoors or under temporary protection and included raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants and other minor soft fruit crops.
It covers the period from September 2011 to September 2012. Data was collected from 50 holdings and collectively represented 32 per cent of the total crop area grown in Scotland.
