NEONICOTINOIDS DEFRA has approved an emergency application for English sugar beet growers to use a neonicotinoid seed treatment against virus yellows. Neonicotinoids were banned across the European Union in 2019 – which at that time included the UK – as concerns grew over their effects on bee populations. While manufacturers cited research that the chemicals do not actually kill pollinators, other studies suggested that neonicotinoids have a negative effect on bee behaviour, such that colonies fail in the long term because their normal food gathering and breeding activities are disrupted. In the end, the EU decided to err on the side of caution and remove its authorisation for the outdoor use of three neonicotinoids – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam.