Water quality remains top priority for The Voluntary Initiative

New best practice advice and pesticide decision trees for selected catchments have been published by The Voluntary Initiative.

"Ensuring pesticides do not reach water remains a top priority for the VI, especially in those catchments where pesticides have been identified as a priority by the VI and the England Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative (ECSFDI)," advises Professor Bob Breach, Chairman of the VI Water Sub Group. "The advice in the decision trees has been designed to help farmers and advisers take the necessary steps to reduce the chance of pesticides reaching water."

The new decision trees include advice on both clopyralid and metaldehyde which have recently been detected in watercourses. In addition there is new advice highlighting best practice for grassland sprays.

"We understand that this new advice for growers is challenging," warns Prof Breach. "But we need all growers to take care if using chlorotoluron instead of isoproturon, that one historic problem is not simply swapped for another. For the oilseed rape herbicides propyzamide and carbetamide, we recognise that there is conflict between optimum efficacy and the risks to water, so it is vital growers work with their adviser to identify and avoid high risk situations."