The Europe-wide ban of the herbicide paraquat has caused considerable concern among a section of UK growers.

Last week the European Court of First Instance - the second highest court in the European Union - banned the use of paraquat (or paraquat containing products) with immediate effect.

According to Tony Redsell, chairman of the National Hops Association, hops growers look set to be particularly affected by the loss of the chemical. Hop growers have used it for years as a contact herbicide to control basal growth of weeds.

It has also been used extensively by farmers and growers generally, not least for establishing weed free seed beds.

“I don’t think it has been fully understood what inconvenience this ban will cause in the future, as crop protection products for our use get less and less,” lamented Redsell, one of the largest hop growers in the country.

Paraquat, more commonly known as Grammoxone, was given Annexe I status under the Directive 91/414 in 2003, allowing it to be used as a herbicide throughout the EU. But since then, four EU member states contested the decision, and effectively this has been upheld.

The Pesticide Safety Directive (PSD) decided to revoke approvals for products containing paraquat with immediate effect. But clarification is being sought as to whether those against this decision have two months from July 1 to present their case.

What has caused further annoyance is that these four separate member states involved - Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Finland - are claimed to have wanted it banned because a number of procedural and legal requirements had not been followed.

But the view has also been expressed that growers in those countries had no need to use the product, and therefore exercised their right to veto the original 2003 Annexe I approval.

The National Hop Growers Association’s technical officer, Peter Glendinning, has written to senior members of the association, saying that he had sent a letter to PSD asking for an extension of use in hops for paraquat until the end of the season, ‘especially as the rates used were so low.’

But he further wrote that it is worrying that the European Court of First Instance has made this judgment ‘against the integrity of the European Commission’s process for regulating pesticides.`

According to Vivian Powell, the SOLA coordinator based at Stockbridge Technology Centre, all off-label approvals containing paraquat are also banned.

There were off labels approvals for use on outdoor rhubarb, various protected crops, outdoor lettuce and lucerne in general agriculture that will be affected by this judgment.

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