'Low' use of pesticides
The use of pesticides on crops grown in Malta is low when compared to other southern European countries and the United Kingdom, data published by the National Statistics Office show. Analysing the use of plant protection products by Maltese farmers...
The use of pesticides on crops grown in Malta is low when compared to other southern European countries and the United Kingdom, data published by the National Statistics Office show.
Analysing the use of plant protection products by Maltese farmers between September 2004 and last August, the NSO gave a breakdown of the main crops grown and what amounts of fungicides, herbicides and insecticides are used on potatoes, tomatoes, broad beans, cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, citrus, grapes, lettuce, nectarines, olives, onions, peaches, peas, strawberries, sugar melons, water melons, marrows and wheat.
Almost half of the land cultivated was devoted to the production of fodder, of which only 43 per cent was treated with pesticides.
On the other hand, pesticides were used on 95 per cent of potato fields observed, 98 per cent of strawberries grown and 95 per cent of carrot fields.
The number of times a crop was treated varied from one crop to another, but treatment was applied more often on "permanent" crops such as grapes and peaches.
Different kinds of pesticides are used on different crops depending on the kind of pest which is likely to damage the crops. For example, fungicides are used mostly on potatoes and grapes while herbicides are applied to wheat fields. Outdoor tomatoes, on the other hand, get the highest percentage of insecticides among all the crops analysed, followed by grapes.
The data showed that the application of pesticides was also dictated by the Mediterranean climate. Herbicides, for instance, were applied at the beginning of October at the start of the rainy season when the weed seeds begin to germinate.
Fungicide is applied throughout the year, however the peak usage is between January and June. Insecticide usage is mainly applied from February to June with very low amounts applied between August and November.
"Plant protection products use in Malta is dominated by the use of fungicides illustrating the importance of disease control over pest control," the NSO's agricultural section remarked.