The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) authorised the use in emergency situations of a neonicotinoid product, imidacloprid, for the treatment of seeds of autumn straw cereals.
"The measure was taken because Romania is one of the main cultivators of cereals in the European Union (4th place in 2023), the area cultivated with cereals in 2023 will be about 5 million ha, wheat being the second largest cultivated area in Romania, after corn. Due to geographical conditions and climate change (mild winters and springs with temperatures above normal), Romania is increasingly confronted each year with major problems in terms of soil pests Zabrus tenebrioides and Agriotes spp., which infest large areas of arable land, including the cultivation of straw cereals," reads a ministry release sent to AGERPRES on Monday.
According to the quoted source, in the fall campaign of 2024, the treated seeds of autumn straw cereals will be used only in the areas most affected by the attack of the pests Zabrus tenebrioides and Agriotes spp., where the economic threshold of pest damage is exceeded.
MADR specifies that, at the European Union level, the steppe area in which the highest pressure of soil pests is found is present exclusively in Romania and overlaps with agricultural regions that naturally have the economic damage threshold (EDP) exceeded for the soil pests Zabrus tenebrioides and Agriotes spp.
This year, more than 100 derogations have been granted in the European Union, most of them in Austria with 23, Spain with 17, Greece with 11 and France with 10.
According to MADR, the treatment of the seeds of autumn straw cereals will be carried out only by authorised service providers. The company in charge of selling the plant protection product will market the product directly or through distributors to authorised service providers registered with the county phytosanitary offices, who provide proof that the treatment will be carried out in professional facilities and with qualified personnel.
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