Ban of neonicotinoids in arable crops, causes and consequences

Neonikotinoidi su se počeli primjenjivati u zaštiti od štetnika 90-ih godina prošlog stoljeća. Zbog negativnih učinaka na pčele Europska je komisija 2018. godine u svim zemljama članicama Europske unije zabranila uporabu tri djelatne tvari neonikotinoida: imidakloprida, tiametoksama i klotianidina, za sve vrste korištenja, osim u trajnim staklenicima i za biljke koje će cijeli životni vijek provesti u zatvorenu prostoru. Ovim radom analizirat će se razlozi zabrane neonikotinoida te na temelju dosadašnjih iskustava iz brojnih zemalja i posljedice zabrane na ratarsku proizvodnju. Rezultati mnogobrojnih studija pokazali su da se osim akutne i kronične toksičnosti negativan utjecaj neonikotinoida ogleda u učinku subletalnih doza kojima su izložene populacije oprašivača. Zabrana korištenja djelatnih tvari imidakloprida, tiametoksama, klotianidina, a na kraju i tiakloprida u zemljama Europske unije, očekivano je dovela do velikih promjena u ratarskoj proizvodnji. Došlo je do povećanja pojave štetnika, kao i do pojave rezistentnosti štetnika na starije, prije korištene insekticide, do smanjenja prinosa i kvalitete uroda, a značajno se povećala i folijarna primjena insekticida, osobito onih iz skupine piretroida. Pozitivne su strane zabrane s agronomskog gledišta uvođenje i implementacija alternativnih metoda suzbijanja štetnika i znanstveni dokazi koji pokazuju da je usprkos smanjenoj mogućnosti odabira i primjene insekticida moguće održavanje stabilnih prihoda uz smanjenu uporabu insekticida.The use of neonicotinoids in pest control began in the 1990s. In 2018, due to the negative effects on bees, the European Commission banned the use of three active ingredients of neonicotinoids in all EU member states: imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and clothianidin, for all types of use except in permanent greenhouses and for plants that will spend their entire life indoors. The aim of this paper is to analyze the reasons for the ban on neonicotinoids and, based on previous experience from many countries, to examine the consequences of the ban on crop production. The results of numerous studies have shown that the negative effects of neonicotinoids are reflected in the effects of sublethal doses to which pollinator populations are exposed, in addition to acute and chronic toxicity. The ban on the use of the active ingredients imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin and finally thiacloprid in the countries of European Union is likely to have led to major changes in crop production. On the one hand, there was an increase in pest incidence as well as the emergence of pest resistance to older, previously used insecticides, a decline in yield and crop quality, and a significant increase in foliar application of insecticides, particularly from the pyrethroid group. The positive aspects of the ban from an agronomic point of view are the introduction and implementation of alternative pest control methods as well as scientific findings showing that it is possible to maintain stable agricultural incomes with a reduced use of insecticides despite the limited options for insecticide selection and application