Flea Beetle Treatment

The EU’s ruling for treatment for flea beetle (Cruzer and similar) remains the same as last year - it can only be applied to kale and swede and other brassicas including rape, turnips, mustard etc cannot be treated. The reasoning for this is that kale and swede do not produce seed very readily and require vernalisation by going through the winter, whereas plants that go to seed quicker, like turnips, are far more likely to pass on Neonicotinoids to bees at the time of year that the insects are active.  It is thought that these Neonicotinoids could be responsible for declining bee populations.

---

Date Posted: 10th March 2015