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Bayer official defends chemical

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Published: February 7, 2002

BANFF, Alta. – The man in charge of Bayer Canada’s crop protection

division does not believe it has produced a chemical that harms

beneficial insects.

Canadian, French and German beekeepers have been reporting heavy losses

in their hives as early as 1994.

“Imidacloprid was the unlikely cause,” he told the Canadian Honey

Council meeting in Banff.

“We didn’t feel we had an impact.”

A series of residue studies have turned up nothing and the company

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concluded its product was not to blame.

“We found no causal relationship between use of imidacloprid and

decline in honey production and bee populations in any country,” he

said.

However, Bayer promises to keep researching the issue and will support

education programs on the proper use of the chemical.

“There is an issue in Canada and bees continue to die,” he told a group

of skeptical beekeepers.

Imidacloprid was discovered in 1985 in Japan. It targets insects that

pierce plant tissue, eat plants or suck plant sap.

Beekeepers first began reporting problems in France in 1994 when

sunflower seeds were coated with Gaucho prior to planting. The chemical

binds to the soil particles and is broken down by soil microbes.

Registered for use in 120 countries on 140 crops, Canadian registration

covers potatoes, tomatoes, field lettuce, apples and some greenhouse

uses.

It is also an ingredient in Gaucho to control flea beetles and lygus

bugs in canola. Another application is in flea collars for pets.

“Canada has one of the smallest registration packages in the world,”

Sorensen said.

About the author

Barbara Duckworth

Barbara Duckworth

Barbara Duckworth has covered many livestock shows and conferences across the continent since 1988. Duckworth had graduated from Lethbridge College’s journalism program in 1974, later earning a degree in communications from the University of Calgary. Duckworth won many awards from the Canadian Farm Writers Association, American Agricultural Editors Association, the North American Agricultural Journalists and the International Agriculture Journalists Association.

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