Ontario’s environment ministry plans to maintain its regulations governing the sale and farmers’ use of neonicotinoid-treated seeds despite a new federal government report saying one type of the pesticide, imidacloprid, poses little risk to bees.
In a preliminary report summary released by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) Jan. 6, the agency says for foliar applications of imidacloprid the potential risk to bees from the pesticide varies with the timing of the application. However, current label restrictions help to minimize that risk.
A potential risk to bees was identified for some soil treatments of imidacloprid. However, “no potential risk to bees was indicated for seed treatment use,” the report’s summary says.
SUSAN MANN – Better Farming – January 08, 2016.