The last remaining granular nematicide for potato cyst nematode (PCN) control, Nemathorin (fosthiazate) faces an uncertain future on UK farms, as Mike Abram reports for Farmers Weekly.
While its approval holder, ISK, and marketer Syngenta have invested in new research to help defend it during the EU and UK reregistration procedures, there are no guarantees that they will be successful in obtaining a new approval.
However, Scottish Agronomy’s senior potato agronomist Eric Anderson says ISK and Syngenta are hopeful. Current approval timelines give three to four years’ more use in the UK, and while that might seem a reasonable time away, the changes needed in the industry to cope with PCN without any granular nematicides will take at least that long to put in place, Mr Anderson says.
At the recent Cambridge University Potato Growers Research Association (Cupgra) conference, he highlighted four areas where action is needed, or more research required.
Source: Farmers Weekly. Read the full story here
Photo: Credit Gary Naylor via Farmers Weekly
