PARIS, France (Reuters) — The French government has extended for two years a suspension on the use of Bayer AG’s pesticide Gaucho on sunflower seeds, to allow more studies of its potential impact on bees.
Honey makers allege Gaucho has damaged bee swarms by making plants toxic. The bee population has dropped sharply in recent years, with keepers reporting that many bees are becoming disoriented and unable to return to their hives.
German chemical manufacturer Bayer said the pesticide leaves a small residue in nectar and pollen, but not nearly in the quantities required to have an impact on bees.
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Cynthia Scott-Dupree, professor of entomology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, said she found the same results while performing tests in Canada on large-scale commercial plantings of canola seed treated with Gaucho.
She said the treatments had no impact on honeybees in terms of their foraging activity, mortality of adult bees, honey production and behavior.
She added that other North American studies back this up, but that research should continue to determine if residue over the long term could affect bees.
Gaucho is marketed by Gustafson Partnership in Canada and is one of the products being introduced to replace lindane.
Bayer sells the product in 70 countries.
The French agriculture ministry said that its decision to extend Gaucho’s January 1999 suspension is consistent with the government’s “principle of precaution.”
The decision might be reversed if fresh and compelling evidence emerged, it added.
Agriculture minister Jean Glavany has asked a committee of independent experts to conduct a full study on all possible causes of the problem known as “mad bee disease.”
“I now want us to tackle the problem head-on and for a detailed appraisal to be conducted in all independence and all transparency on all the possible causes of bee depopulation and the reduction of honeydew,” he said.
Glavany has asked the ministry’s toxicology commission to report as soon as possible on the potential impact of Gaucho residue on the soil. The pesticide is also used by wheat, barley, corn and sugar beet growers to protect against greenfly.
Gaucho is a systemic pesticide used to coat seeds at the time of sowing and is then distributed in the plant via the sap.
Beekeepers quote studies showing that even after two years, plants sowed on the same spot as previous crops treated with Gaucho contained traces of the product.
Bayer said that scientists must look at other causes for the bee population decline and points out the problem has affected beekeepers across the country, including many in regions where Gaucho is not used.
The National Union of French Beekeepers said national honey production fell to around 25,000 tonnes in 1999 from 35,000 tonnes before systemic pesticides were introduced in the early 1990s.
The number of hives has plummeted to one million from 1.45 million in 1996.
