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Sugar beet growers have been granted emergency authorisation to apply a second foliar spray of InSyst (acetamiprid) to control peach-potato aphid. The emergency authorisation... Emergency authorisation granted for aphid control

Winged aphid on a sugar beet plant

Sugar beet growers have been granted emergency authorisation to apply a second foliar spray of InSyst (acetamiprid) to control peach-potato aphid.

The emergency authorisation follows a joint request by British Sugar and NFU Sugar, which represents some 2,500 beet growers. It was granted on 9 May by the Chemicals Regulation Division of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Non-Cruiser treated crops are at particular risk of virus yellows infection, which can devastate sugar beet yields. The emergency authorisation has an expiry date September 2024 and the HSE says it will not be renewed this year.

Although effective against aphids, routine applications of neonicotinoids such as acetamiprid have been banned since 2018 over concern that they also damage pollinators, including bees.

The emergency authorisation allows a second application of InSyst only following a first foliar spray of InSyst and a secondary foliar spray of flonicamid, marketed as Teppeki. Authorisation is for non-Cruiser treated sugar beet only.

The HSE says emergency authorisations should normally be needed for no more than five years while longer-term solutions are developed. “The longer a particular situation lasts, the more difficult it becomes to characterise it as an emergency,” it says.

“While there is no firm time point for this and each emergency application is considered on a case-by-case basis, a failure to address this aspect may lead to a repeat application failing to meet the requirements for special circumstances.”

Terms and conditions attached the emergency authorisation state that growers making a second application of InSyst must undertake aphid counts. They must also record the growth stage of the crop and the area sprayed.

Crop management

Many non-Cruiser SB crops had reached the minimum application threshold of five green wingless aphids per 20 plants by mid-May, according to the latest figures from the British Beet Research Organisation.

Although cooler weather since knocked back population rates, the BBRO cautioned against complacency saying aphid numbers were expected to rise quickly with warm weather forecast.

Careful management is now critical. If aphids were at threshold numbers, crops should be treated accordingly. Beneficial predatory insects were now appearing which would help to address the aphid issue, said the BBRO.

Cruiser-treated crops should be protected for 8-10 weeks from drilling so many should not require a foliar insecticide at this stage. Growers should ensure they record the drilling date of each crop to be clear where aphid monitoring is a priority.