Neonicotinoid product as seed treatment for sugar beet: emergency authorisation application 2025
The Minister for Water and Flooding denies application for emergency authorisation to use a product containing a neonicotinoid to treat seeds for the 2025 sugar beet crop in England.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
In the summer of 2024, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) received an application from the National Farmers Union (NFU) and British Sugar seeking an emergency authorisation for the use of a neonicotinoid product as a seed treatment on sugar beet. The product is 鈥楥ruiser SB鈥�, which provides protection against the potato peach aphid and the yellows virus it transmits.听听
After careful consideration of all the issues and evidence, Emma Hardy MP, Minister for Water and Flooding and the minister responsible for pesticides, has decided not to grant an authorisation for emergency use of the product Cruiser SB, which contains the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, for the treatment of sugar beet seed in England in 2025.听
Alongside the statement of reasons for this decision, we are publishing the following documents that informed the decision-making process:听听
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Defra鈥檚 Chief Scientific Adviser鈥檚 advice on the use of Cruiser SB on the UK鈥檚 sugar beet crops听听
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Defra economists鈥� analysis on the impacts of yellows virus on sugar beet production听听
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Emergency authorisation guiding principles, outlining the key elements involved in assessing and deciding on applications for emergency authorisation of plant protection products听
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Cruiser SB HSE emergency registration report 2025
Previous decisions
Read the National Archives for previous decisions on neonicotinoid use on sugar beet seed crops:
Updates to this page
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Published a statement on the decision not to issue emergency authorisation to use a product containing a neonicotinoid to treat sugar beet seed in 2025. Also published the following relevant information: - Defra鈥檚 Chief Scientific Adviser鈥檚 advice on the use of Cruiser SB on sugar beet - Defra's economic analysis on the impacts of yellows virus on sugar beet production Added links to the: - the HSE鈥檚鈥痚mergency registration report - the鈥疷K Expert Committee on Pesticides鈥� advice Removed details of 2024 decision and supporting documents and added links to previous decisions on the National Archives website.
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Published a statement on the decision to issue emergency authorisation, with strict conditions, to use a product containing a neonicotinoid to treat sugar beet seed in 2024. Also published the following relevant information: - Defra鈥檚 Chief Scientific Adviser鈥檚 advice on the use of Cruiser SB on sugar beet - Defra's economic analysis on the impacts of yellows virus on sugar beet production Added links to the: - the HSE鈥檚鈥痚mergency registration report - the鈥疷K Expert Committee on Pesticides鈥� advice Removed details of 2023 decision and supporting documents and added links to previous decisions on the National Archives website.
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2021 and 2022 decisions and supporting documents removed as attachments on page and added to National Archives - link added to this page for access.
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We鈥檝e added a summary of the conditions attached to the emergency authorisation decision in the Details section of the web page. We鈥檝e also made the following corrections in the attached documents: - 鈥榰se is only permitted if the predicted virus incidence level is 63% or above, as determined on 1 March 2023鈥� (this was mistakenly given as 1 March 2022) [Statement of reasons for the 2023 decision] - 鈥榓 46-month ban on subsequent use of Cruiser SB on the same field鈥� (this was mistakenly given as a 48-month ban) [Chief Scientific Adviser鈥檚 advice on the use of Cruiser SB on the 2023 sugar beet crop] - 鈥� Our analysis suggests that these methods, alongside other IPM actions, will be effective in managing predicted virus incidence up to 62%鈥� (this was mistakenly given as up to 53%) [Defra economic analysis report 2023]
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We have published a statement on the decision to issue - with strict conditions - emergency authorisation to use a product containing a neonicotinoid to treat sugar beet seed in 2023. The following documents have been added: - The UK Expert Committee on Pesticides (ECP) advice - Defra economic analysis evidence report on the impacts of virus yellows on sugar beet production 2023 - Defra鈥檚 Chief Scientific Adviser鈥檚 advice on the use of Cruiser SB on the 2023 sugar beet crop - Statement of reasons for the decision on the application for emergency authorisation for the use of Cruiser SB on the 2023 sugar beet crop We've also added a link to the Health and Safety Executive's emergency registration report for the use of Cruiser SB on the 2023 sugar beet crop.
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Update March 2022: Following a relatively mild winter, modelling on 1 March 2022 predicted a level of virus incidence that means the required threshold for use has been met and the seed treatment can now proceed under strict conditions.
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Alongside the statement on the decision to issue, we have now published the following documents that informed the decision making process: * Defra鈥檚 Chief Scientific Adviser鈥檚 Advice * Defra's economist鈥檚 analysis this document contains Defra鈥檚 economist鈥檚 analysis on the impacts of virus yellows on sugar beet production * Emergency Authorisation guiding principles
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We have published a statement on the decision to issue with strict conditions emergency authorisation to use a product containing a neonicotinoid to treat sugar beet seed in 2022
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Updated decision to reflect that the neonicotinoid product has not been used this year.
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First published.