pointed, that an alternative to the banned
neonics may not even
be necessary, he said:
“I have been trying
to flag up for some
time now that there is
no clear evidence as
to what difference to
yields neonics make,
which is quite surprising considering everybody uses them. If you
were to take away the
seed dressing and do
everything else the
same, there is no data
to say how this would
affect yields because
no one has done this
simple trial in the UK.”
Do neonics
really help
crop growth?
For this reason, the
spider venom biopesticide should not be
seen as an alternative
to neonicinoid pesticides. Goulson also
58
But there have been a
few trials in the US and
they show that neonic
pesticides are coming
up short. A two year
study on soybeans in
South Dakota found no