NFU Sugar and British Sugar had applied for emergency use of neonicotinoid seed treatment on sugar beet seed in the event of a high forecast of virus pressure in 2025.
As in previous years, its use would only have been triggered if the independent Rothamsted Model surpassed a threshold of virus severity.
The government has today announced that it will be not granting the application for 2025.
Immediate support against Virus Yellows needed
Responding to the news, NFU Sugar Board chair Michael Sly MBE said: “Following the devastating impact that VY (Virus Yellows) disease has had on the British sugar beet industry in recent years, we are disappointed that our emergency application has not been granted.
“We must remember that any seed treatment would only have been used if an independent, scientific forecast of pest pressure had surpassed a threshold of severity to warrant its use.
“Recent VY disease pressures have caused crop losses of up to 80%, which has put farm businesses under huge pressure, at a time when the sector is already struggling with high production costs, extreme weather and the transition to Environmental Land Management schemes.
“We are asking Defra to meet us to discuss immediate support for our Virus Yellows Resilience Package to mitigate any threat posed by a high VY year in 2025.”
NFU Sugar Board chair Michael Sly MBE
“As a result of not having this emergency application granted, growers will not have a single viable solution to protect their crop in 2025 in the event of severe disease pressure.
“As an industry, we are asking Defra to meet us to discuss immediate support for our Virus Yellows Resilience Package to mitigate any threat posed by a high VY year in 2025 and to help us move at pace on some of the workstreams and trials in our VY pathway.”
Virus Yellows Resilience Package
The industry’s (BBRO, NFU Sugar and British Sugar) Virus Yellows Resilience Package is asking for support for some of the most promising trials within the Virus Yellows Pathway in order to expedite grower access to long-term solutions to the disease.
There have been promising developments across several areas, including gene editing, conventional breeding techniques and novel integrated pest management, but the industry now needs urgent support to go further, faster.
Defra has said it is committed to supporting farmers to ‘tackle pests effectively and sustainably’.
