2nd Meeting of the Resistance Panel on Plant Protection Products
Pushkin - Sankt Peterburg (RU), 2007-09-19/21
The Resistance Panel on Plant Protection Products met at VIZR (All-Russian Plant Protection Institute), in Pushkin (St. Petersburg) on 2007-09-19/21. Special thanks are due to Mr Viktor Dolzhenko and his colleagues for warm hospitability and fine organization of this meeting. Participants had the oportunity to visit Catherin’s Palace and park in Pushkin and the city of St. Petersburg, rich in cultural and historical monuments.
The Panel was welcomed by Professor Vladimir V. Pavlushin, Director of VIZR. He outlined the agricultural situation in Russia and how his Institute was tackling the problems of pests and diseases. His overview of the problems of resistance in Russia and research activities in this area was followed by more detailed presentations by Mrs Sukhoruchenko (insecticides), Mrs Makhan’kova (herbicides) and Mr Tarassov (fungicides).
Mr Dolzhenko presented the pesticide registration procedure in Russia.
Mr Brunelli, as a new Panel member, informed the meeting about current resistance problems and resistance management in Italy.
A regular topic on the agenda is the update from Resistance Action Committees (RACs) and Mr McCaffery for IRAC and Mr Genet for FRAC informed the Panel about the new developments in their respective committees. In spring 2007 IRAC launched a completely new website www.irac-online.org, where detailed information about IRAC and its activities could be found and many useful documents and posters downloaded.
Mr Denholm came to this meeting to inform the Panel about the ENDURE (European Network for the DURable Exploitation of Crop Protection Strategies), a four-year project (2007-2010) with the financial support of the European Commission's Sixth Framework Programme, priority 5: "Food Quality and Security". It may offer EPPO some possibilities for cooperation on the issues of resistance management. More information about ENDURE is available at www.endure-network.eu/
The Panel discussed a draft questionnaire developed by the Panel and the Secretariat, which should establish contact points on resistance in EPPO countries, and identify the work of national RAGs or similar bodies, national research projects, available resistance management strategies, etc. It will be available online so that afterwards the information received could be compiled more easily and made available on EPPO website.
Resistance management can only be successful if all countries in a region adopt similar and compatible strategies. EPPO needs to encourage all member countries to work together and agree a way forward and Resistance Panel should take a monitoring role for activities in resistance and to operate as a central point for sharing that information amongst member countries. In that light how to organize new EPPO webpage on resistance was discussed. It was agreed that immediate priority was to establish links to RACs and national resistance action groups (or similar bodies) who provide advice and information on resistance.
Several new documents prepared by the UK (on resistance warnings and restrictions on labels and guidance document on the evidence required to support the registration of insecticide mixtures) were considered, but as those are delicate subjects they will be rediscussed again at the next meeting.
Finally, the Panel discussed impact of the revision of the EU Directive 91/414 (in particular a newly proposed system of « comparative assessment ») on resistance management and availability of plant protection products. The Panel expressed concern about the impact of loss of many plant protection products on the available resistance management tool box. The Panel will next meet on 16/18 September in Eger, Hungary.
