b'A LIFE WITHOUT NEONICSFarmers in the United Kingdom are experimenting with various agronomy practices for pest control as they adjust to life without neonicotinoids.Ashley RobinsonTHE UNITED KINGDOMmay no longer be part of theinsecticides were accumulating in ponds, creeks European Union (EU), but the EUs presence stilland other water bodies near agricultural land. lingers. Following years of environmental regula- Two years later, the same phase-out recommen-tions crimping farming practices, farmers are stilldation was made for thiamethoxam and clothia-finding themselves grappling with EU-enactednidin. The decision is still pending.controls including the ban on neonicotinoidWhile the United States has no current pro-insecticides which flipped regular farming prac- posals to ban the use of neonic products, they tices upside down. have been under increased scrutiny. The U.S. In Britain, farmers have been forced toEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) has become creative to try and protect their cropsbanned 12 products from Syngenta, Valent and against pest infestations. Despite their bestBayer. The EPA currently allows 47 other neon-efforts, the pests still plague them and theyreics to be used, but those could be phased-out stuck waiting on science to catch up to thein 2022 when they undergo the re-registration regulations, says Scott Cockburn, businessprocess. Some states have also enacted their own manager for Syngenta Crop Protect in the Unitedpersonal restrictions on neonics.Kingdom. In the U.K., farmers have struggled with life The EU regulations date back to 2013 whenafter neonics for years. Cereal crops have been the European Council placed restrictions on theeasier to manage, but others, like rapeseed, are use of clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiamethoxamchallenging and acreage has started to fall. Flea and fipronil, banning their use on floweringbeetle infestations have been getting worse with crops which appeal to honeybees and other pol- larvae now being found in the stems of the rape-linating insects. The decision was made basedseed plantsunheard of before the ban.on studies stating bees were dying due to theIts not uncommon to split main stems in insecticide use. The regulations became moreearly spring and find 30 larvae in the main wide-ranging in 2018, with full bans enacted. stem, Cockburn says. In the worst-case sce-Across the pond, the studies on pollinatingnario, theyre completely severing the main stem, insects and insecticides have caught the attentionso the plant just dies.of North American governments. In 2016, theIn winter cereals, farmers have experimented Canadian government first proposed a phase-outwith agronomic practices to try and protect their of all agricultural uses of imidacloprid, as thecrops. They have started using minimal tillage, 46GERMINATION.CANOVEMBER 2020'