Survey on application of chemical pesticides in grapes (for wine production)

Abstract

Freely available information on the actual use of chemical plant protection products (PPPs) in agriculture is highly necessary for a number of scientific questions and political discussion. Therefore, since 2000, regular surveys on the use of PPPs have been carried out for the most important agricultural and horticultural crops in Germany (NEPTUN projects). In 2011, they were adjusted to legal framework changes. Since then they are known as PAPA surveys with “PAPA” being an abbreviation for Panel Pesticide Applications. For each crop a network of farms was built up. In each the PPP application data are collected annually. The participating farms are distributed throughout Germany proportionally to the production area per crop. The data was anonymized and forwarded to the Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI). All surveys and analyses based on the panel refer to the Federal Republic of Germany.

The results of PAPA surveys show that in grape the plant protection intensity has increased steadily in recent years. One reason for this development is a considerable increase in fungal pathogens in permanent crop sites (especially in viticulture). In addition, an increase of “new” pathogens was observed. Both may be a consequence of climate change/global warming. Finally, the ban of some highly effective pesticides and the development of resistances lead to an increase in pesticide applications. Therefore, a reduction of chemical plant protection measures cannot be expected in the next few years.

DOI: 10.5073/JfK.2015.12.03, https://doi.org/10.5073/JfK.2015.12.03