Crop protection priorities for forage and feed crops in light of proposed EU pesticide regulations and other changes

Project details
The overall aim of the project was to identify the most economically significant threats to production, in grass and forage crops, due to the reduced availability of pesticides in the next 5-10 years, in order to inform priorities for levy investments.

Specific objectives:

1. Estimation of current economic impact of weeds, pests and diseases on grass and forage crops.

2. Assessment of likely future status of key pesticides over a 5-10 year timescale.

3. Evaluation of alternative control methods whether currently available or in development, and their cost-effectiveness

4. Identification of the most significant combinations of economic importance, risk of loss of current control measures and absence of alternative control methods. The implications of climate change on priorities were considered.