§ Mr. Ron Daviesasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the area of land sprayed with pesticides in thousands of hectares by (a) fixed-wing aircraft, (b) helicopters and (c) in total for each year since 1978.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerThe available information is as follows:
Areas Sprayed with Pesticides by Aircraft in Thousands of Hectares* 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 Fixed wing 178 205 202 161 170 Helicopters 156 145 133 111 139 Unknown 3 — 31 23 51 Total 336 350 366 295 360 * Corrected for non returns. Comparable figures do not exist for the area treated with ground machines, but it is estimated that 5.3 million hectares of crops and grass were treated with pesticides once or more often in 1982.