Neonic Research

Neonic Research

Neonic Research. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report.

Growing Matters, an industry consortium that includes Bayer CropScience, Syngenta and Valent U.S.A. Corp, with support from Mitsui Chemicals Agro, Inc., has released the first comprehensive research study of the economic and societal value of neonicotinoids as we have discussed. Neonicotinoids are used to protect crops, flowers, shrubs, lawns and trees from pests. Growing Matters recently released a couple of studies and is releasing two more new case studies on the effectiveness of neonicotinoids on pest management. The first is about the invasive silverleaf whitefly in ornamentals. The second is on the impact of the chinch bug in the turfgrass and lawn care industry. Neonics, as they are also known, are a critical tool in controlling this insect that has had devastating effects, including costing growers hundreds of millions of dollars in losses in a single season. The study, conducted by AgInfomatics, surveyed 22,000 growers, consumers and applicators in the U.S. and Canada. Most of the research done for the studies looks at the previously mentioned ornamental and turf industry as well as corn, soybean, wheat, cotton and sorghum but neonicotinoids are an important part of many tree fruit operations here in the northwest and across the U.S. For a look at the complete studies to date visit www.growingmatters.org.

That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.

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