How Did The Neonicotinoid Ban Affect OSR Production?

The 2018 neonicotinoid ban was a huge talking point, with the incessant pressure of cabbage stem flea beetle (particularly for growers in Southern regions) posing real threats to OSR production. It was broadly felt that without enough actives to mitigate this, OSR would become high-risk at best, or wholly unviable.  

This explains the chart below, representing the marked decrease in % of fields growing OSR following the 2018 ban.

Chart 1

Chart 2

Other reactions to the 2018 ban included reconsidered variety choices (Chart 2) and drill timings (Chart 3).  

One popular variety that saw an increase following 2018 was the conventional variety Campus – known for its early vigour. Indeed, Campus was marketed by KWS as “quicker than the flea beetle.” Another conventional variety with strong vigour which saw an uptick, although not evidenced in this graph, was Flamingo.  

Acacia, which arrived later to the scene, took well to market and is also favoured for strong early vigour and fast establishment. Essential characteristics for overcoming high flea beetle pressure.  

Visualised below (Chart 3) is the shift in drill timings seen since 2018. This reveals a clear movement toward earlier drill timings, most notably increasing in early August – with some growers aiming for late July to give their crop the best chance of growing away from flea beetle pressure.  

The dip in August drilling in 2023 is being attributed to the unseasonably wet and windy August of that year, with the two storms ‘Antoni’ and ‘Betty’ negatively affecting conditions for drilling. These poor harvest conditions also limited the availability of fields ready for drilling next season’s crop.  
 
Is this information reflective of decisions you’ve been making on your farm? 

Chart 3

Charts 4 and 5 analyse the impact which adjusting insecticide spend can have on both yield and cost of production. This is relevant following the 2018 ban, but also in light of considering the more recent introduction of IPM04 (£45p/h no insecticide). 

Chart 4

Chart 5

Notably, our dataset suggests that higher insecticide spend on a per hectare basis doesn’t always correlate with higher yield and thus no improvements to costs of production per tonne - perhaps due to applications being an indicator of high insect pressure, or potentially representing adverse impacts on naturally occurring beneficials.  

Growing OSR is known to be high risk, and achieving high yields amongst numerous biotic stresses is a challenge. However, depending on your region and flea beetle pressure, achieving a 3t/ha yield without applying insecticides, as demonstrated in chart 5, is not out of the question. As always, a flexible approach and attention to detail with your specific field environments can lead to a greater chance of success. 

If you consider your growing area and associated risks, is achieving a lesser yield without insecticide offset by the option of claiming £45/ha? (IPM04). This will depend on a range of factors specific to your farm – but accurate data analysis of your operation holds the key for gaining the insights necessary to inform such decisions. 

As always a holistic approach is necessary to maintain a robust growing operation, but with advancements in crop genetics, pest monitoring and cultural control options, the ever reducing chemical options only highlights the necessity of using products as the final pillar of integrated crop management to ensure optimised application of products, rather than a reliance. 

Find Content Like This Interesting?

Then check out Episode 8 of our Best in Field Podcast, where I shared more of my thoughts on the changing landscape of crop protection and the role I believe data is going to play in tomorrow's landscape.

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