Scottish Government reports show pesticide use on both outdoor vegetable and fodder crops grown in Scotland in 2017 has declined.
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Grassland and rough grazing continue to have low pesticide input with applications very similar to that previously reported. A reduction in the use of rodenticides used to control rodents on grass and fodder farms was also recorded. The Scottish Government recognises that pesticide use is influenced by a range of factors, but welcomes the decreases in use reported in 2017.
Scotland’s Chief Statistician today published three reports in relation to Pesticide Usage in Scotland. These were: pesticide use on outdoor vegetable crops in 2017, pesticide use on grassland and fodder crops in 2017 and rodenticide use on grassland and fodder farms in 2017.
Overall, pesticide applications to Scottish outdoor vegetable crops in 2017 were almost a fifth lower than in the previous survey in 2015. Ninety three percent of vegetable crops were treated with a pesticide in 2017. The treated area received on average 5.4 pesticide sprays with a total combined application weight of ca. 66 tonnes.
Pesticide applications to Scottish fodder crops in 2017 were almost a third lower than in the previous survey in 2013.
Sixty three percent of fodder crops were treated with a pesticide in 2017, which received on average 1.4 pesticide sprays with a total combined application weight of 8 tonnes. Data were collected about fodder growers’ Integrated Pest Management (IPM) activities. A wide variety of IPM techniques were recorded and 87 percent of growers sampled used non-chemical pest control in partnership with, or instead of, chemical control.
Pesticide input into grassland was low, with four percent of grassland and <0.5 percent of rough grazing treated with a pesticide. The treated area received on average one spray, which were almost exclusively herbicides. Pesticide applications to grassland were very similar to those encountered in the previous survey in 2013.
It was estimated that rodenticides were used on 35 percent of grass and fodder farms in 2017, a reduction from the 43 percent using rodenticides in 2013.
Approximately 130 tonnes of rodenticide bait, containing less than 7 kg of active substance, was estimated to have been used. This was 40 percent lower than in the previous survey in 2013. As in the previous surveys, the rodenticides encountered were almost exclusively second generation anticoagulant compounds and the majority of rodenticide users complied with all aspects of the principles of best practice in rodenticide use.
The figures released today were produced by independent statistical staff, free from any political interference, in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. ■