§ Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she was informed that(a) Liberty on its own had proved ineffective as a herbicide used with GMHT fodder maize crops in the United States, and (b) that to overcome this problem Bayer has been promoting the use of Liberty/ Atrazine mix since the spring of 2001. [163170]
§ Mr. MorleyThe herbicide regime employed on the GMHT crops in the farm-scale evaluations (FSE) was established at the beginning of the trials, based on proposals by the chemical manufacturers and the terms of the experimental license granted by the Pesticide Safety Directorate. These guidelines remained in force throughout the FSE. This herbicide regime will now be specified in writing on the release consent in line with advice given by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment on 13 January 2004 and the announcement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, on 9 March. Accordingly, anyone intending to grow the GMHT maize will only be able to do so using that herbicide regime that was tested in the FSE.
Evidence that Liberty alone provided insufficient weed control in the USA, and that it was on occasion mixed with Atrazine emerged in June 2002 and was immediately put to the FSE scientific steering committee for advice. They considered the issue and following assurance from industry that the herbicide regime being
1000W
Market Towns—Expenditure by region by year 2000–01 HQ North East North West Yorkshire and the Humber West Midlands East Midlands East of England South East South West Total Income — — — — — — — — 0 0 Stall costs* 625,000 — — — — — — — — 625,000 Running costs — — — — — — — — — — Transport — — — — — — — — — 0 Market towns Initiative 154,361 24,594 96,196 32,195 12,361 28,206 29,437 44,130 5,000 426,480 Sub total 779,361 24,594 96,196 32,195 12,361 28,206 29,437 44,130 5,000 1,051,480 used in the FSE suited agronomic conditions in the UK, the committee were content to leave protocols unchanged.