Health Canada has determined that neonicotinoid seed treatments do provide economic value for Canadian corn and soybean growers. For corn, the national economic benefit is $74.2 to $83.3 million annually. “Or about 3.2 to 3.6 percent of the national farmgate value for corn in 2013,” the PMRA said. “The majority of these benefits appeared to […] Read more
Tag Archives neonicotinoids — page 6
PMRA finds neonics do not threaten bee health
Health Canada says seed coated with imidacloprid, an insecticide known as a neonicotinoid, does not pose a risk to bee health. Scientists with the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, which oversees agricultural pesticides, released a preliminary report today on imidacloprid and its potential impact on pollinators. The agency said there was “no potential risk to bees,” […] Read more
EPA finds neonic Gaucho threatens bees
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found that imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide, poses a risk to bee colonies. In a preliminary risk assessment released this morning, the EPA said imidacloprid, a Bayer product with the brand name Gaucho, is a threat to bee hives when imidacloprid residues on a crop reach 25 parts per billion. […] Read more
Have wireworms? Show me proof, Ontario government tells farmers wanting to use neonicotinoids
Ontario farmers have an additional task this fall on top of the usual harvest crunch: placing traps in fields to assess soil pests. An Ontario judge decided last month that provincial regulations restricting the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments would remain in place. Consequently, Ontario producers are digging holes in their fields this fall to […] Read more
U.S. study shows crop benefits with neonic use
A University of Wisconsin researcher has concluded there is a benefit to using insecticide seed treatments on soybeans. In a paper published in Crop Science in early February, Shaun Conley and his colleagues determined that Syngenta’s CruiserMaxx product increases soybean plant stand compared to a fungicide-only seed treatment and an untreated check plot in trials […] Read more
New study finds no neonic impact on bees
Ten canola fields in trial | Researchers found bee winter losses and honey production not affected by exposure
A major Canadian study on neonicotinoids was released in late October with little pomp or circumstance. Bee experts Cynthia Scott-Dupree of the University of Guelph and Chris Cutler of Dalhousie University concluded that canola grown from seed coated with a neonicotinoid insecticide does not pose a risk to honeybee colonies. “Although various laboratory studies have […] Read more
Pro-neonic scientists stay quiet as debate rages
Neonicotinoid debate gets ugly | Scientists who defend seed treatments say they are verbally attacked if they speak out
Canadian scientists who believe insecticidal seed treatments are safe are not contributing to the debate over neonicotinoids over fears of how other researchers and environmental groups will react. Ontario environment minister Glen Murray and provincial environment commissioner Gord Miller said earlier this month that neonics are a greater threat to Canada’s ecosystem than DDT. Few, […] Read more
