44 pesticides banned or likely to be banned by EU in 2019 or 2020
Another of the worldâs most commonly used pesticides is coming under increasing scrutiny from the EU Commission and from member states, and may be banned.
Mancozeb was approved in the EU in 2006 for very wide use.
The last extension of its approval, in 2019, was contested by the European Parliament.
It is still approved in the EU, and is commonly used as a pesticide for onions, potatoes and flower bulbs.
It is recommended in Ireland for treatment of potato blight, the most destructive disease of potatoes worldwide.
It is the seventh most widely used pesticide in Spain. About 5.6 million pounds of mancozeb are used annually in the US.
For European potato growers, banning mancozeb would add to difficulty posed by the banning from January 1 last of the germ inhibitor chlorpropham (CIPC).
Used to protect stored potatoes, its loss mainly affects potato processors and exporters.
The ban makes processed potatoes for export from the EU more expensive, and thus less competitive on export markets, because alternative pesticides are more expensive.
EU farmers will have to manage without or depend much less on 44 pesticides banned in 2019 or 2020, or in the process, and likely to be banned.
A further eleven pesticides are scheduled to go through the periodic review process with deadlines this year for the submission of applications for renewal.
The highest profile pesticide to go, from the point of view of Irish farmers, is chlorothalonil.
The loss of this fungicide from May 20 next poses a significant threat to short term winter wheat and barley production in Ireland, according to Teagasc, Oak Park, researcher Steven Kildea
Meanwhile, the European Commission has rejected a call by Italian farmers to lift the ban on the chlorpyrifos-methyl insecticide, until effective alternative methods can be found to control stink bugs threatening severe damage to crops in Mediterranean member states.
In the EU, pesticide active ingredients must be reviewed every 10 to 15 years. The review process takes about three years to complete.
Registrants must apply for renewal no later than 36 months prior to the expiration date.
If substances do not come within EU cut-off criteria, they are likely to be removed from use in the EU, and produce with residues of the banned pesticides will be banned from the market, or the maximum residue limit reduced.
If chemical companies do not support the review of their substance, approval of the substance will automatically expire in the EU on a set date.
Based on European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) conclusions, the European Commission has proposed non-renewal or restricted renewal of Bifenazate, Etoxazole, Indoxacarb, Mancozeb, Metalaxyl-M, Phenmedipham, and Thiophanate-methyl.
They are now under consideration by the EUâs standing committee on plants, animals, food and feed.
Currently, registrants have not submitted the application for renewal of approval, or have withdrawn the application, and approval will expire this year, for six substances.
Already expired in the last year due to non-submission of application for renewal or withdrawal of application for renewal are eight substances.
