Minor crops include vegetables, fruits, nursery stock and ornamentals, and together have a production value of more than €60 billion per year in the European Union (EU), representing more than 20% of the EU's total agricultural production.

However, despite the undoubted importance of sustainably producing such crops, both for human health and European economies, experts have underlined the lack of viable crop protection solutions for an increasing number of minor crops.

Writing in Crop Protection , the team says: “For minor crops, this sustainability can only be realized by the continued availability of crop protection solutions for pest control. The number of minor crops in Europe without viable solutions for plant protection has increased in recent years. This is mainly due to the lack of pesticides in certain crops, as a number of previously authorized pesticides has not been re-authorized due to a stricter regulation.

“Also the introduction of tropical or sub-tropical crops and their pests into Europe has contributed to the problem of minor crops without any crop protection solutions as pesticides used elsewhere to protect these crops are not allowed in Europe.

“The limited range of pesticides available to farmers has increased the risk of resistance development since, in absence of a sufficient number of pesticides with various modes of action, farmers apply repetitively only a narrow spectrum of molecules.

“The direct economic impact due to the absence of viable plant protection solutions for minor crops has been estimated over a billion Euros per year, impacting 9 million hectares throughout Europe.”

In the article, 'Challenges and opportunities for integrated pest management in Europe: A telling example of minor uses', researchers discuss the current situation facing minor crops in Europe and explore the ongoing efforts to address such problems using IPM, which they regard as the best option for crop protection in the longer term.

Researchers highlight several ongoing initiatives within the EU designed to overcome the increasing scarcity of potentially available crop protection solutions for minor crops. They expect that their work will provide evidence of the importance of minor crops in Europe thereby encouraging the development and use of effective IPM solutions. They suggest that research and extension and European policies will have key roles to play. The former providing effective and sustainable solutions providing there is a delivery of consistent national, regional or European funding via the latter.

Taken from:  Jay Ram Lamichhane, Wilma Arendse, Silke Dachbrodt-Saaydeh, Per Kudsk, Johan C. Roman, José E.M. van Bijsterveldt-Gels, Mario Wick and Antoine Messéan. Challenges and opportunities for integrated pest management in Europe: A telling example of minor uses. Crop Protection, Volume 74, August 2015, Pages 42–47 (available online April 2015). DOI: 10.1016/j.cropro.2015.04.005

• To read the abstract or full text (purchase or subscription required): Crop Protection