Ban on haulm killing with diquat is final

The European Commission (EC) has definitively decided to ban the licensing of the active ingredient diquat in the European Union (EU). This mainly affects the well-known haulm killer Reglone, which means that the sector has to look for alternatives.

The license of the active substance diquat ends on June 30, 2019. The re-evaluation of this substance was already started in 2014. Food watchdog EFSA ruled in 2015 that the substance may be harmful to users, bystanders and birds. The EC then requested more investigation, which was completed in April 2018. Boerenbusiness wrote been on this several times.

100% final
During the Scopaff Appeals Committee on 12 July, Member States did not agreement reached on the EC's proposal to withdraw the authorisation. The same committee has now decided to implement its own proposal. This became final on October 12th and the outcome is on Monday October 15th published in the EU journal, making it now 100% final.

It has a sale period of 6 months and a subsequent use period of 9 months. However, the European grace periods have yet to be converted to national terms. It is up to the CTGB to decide which terms will apply in the Netherlands.

The publication in the EU journal states that the expiry date may be no more than 4 February 2020. This means that Reglone may still be used for the 2019 harvest. The term can only be shortened, not extended.

Manufacturer disagree
“We still stand behind our products and maintain that the withdrawal is not justified,” said Hanneke Verhelst, Head of Business Sustainability at Syngenta Benelux. "A number of Member States share our view, according to the result of the vote on 12 July." The Netherlands voted in favor of the ban. "Europe is losing an important tool for the competitiveness of European agriculture," said Verhelst.

Reglone is mainly used in potato cultivation for haulm killing. This is the result in almost all European countries. Equivalent alternatives are not there (yet). The agents Spotlight Plus and Quickdown are used in combination with Reglone to spray the crop. A chemical newcomer to the market is Beloukha. This is a biological agent based on pelargonic acid, which is extracted from rapeseed oil. This alternative is expensive and requires many gallons to be sprayed.

Mechanical Alternatives
The other alternatives are mechanical. Simply haulm flaps in many cases. Varieties with strong foliage growth, such as the Marquis, can hardly be killed with the topper, however. Pulling leaves is then the alternative. In organic cultivation, a lot of deciduous fires are used. This method is not perfect either. Sometimes it is necessary to burn 3 to 4 times, resulting in high costs. The method is therefore under pressure.

"In recent years, the sector has paid a lot of attention to the impending disappearance of diquat for haulm killing," says Verhelst. "On an individual grower level, it is possible that people are not yet sufficiently aware of what the disappearance of diquat means for potato cultivation."

Niels van der Boom

Niels van der Boom is a senior market specialist for arable crops at DCA Market Intelligence. He mainly makes analyses and market updates about the potato market. In columns he shares his sharp view on the arable sector and technology.

n.vanderboom@boerenbusiness. Nl

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