EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
I’m writing this editorial in the eight burly brutes that make up around 80,000 are killed by wind
week before the Rugby World Cup the scrum) simply beat up the turbines and a couple of million are
final, when we’ll discover whether opposition while Jonny Wilkinson killed by traffic collisions.
England will become the first team (perhaps the most famous name
to successfully defend the trophy in world rugby) scores all their Pesticides are also more effective
or whether it will be snatched away points by kicking penalties and at controlling pests than other,
from them by South Africa. drop-goals. This is contrasted with more exciting forms of crop
the thrilling way that the game is protection, such as biopesticides
I’m a bit of a rugby fan and an played by southern hemisphere and biological control agents.
England supporter, and have teams, as exemplified by the All Although these biological forms
been desperate to find a way to Blacks (as the New Zealand team of crop protection offer many
incorporate the World Cup into this is known), in which the backs (the advantages, they suffer from the
editorial, so that I can write about seven speedy runners behind the fact that they are slower, less
rugby for a change rather than just scrum) score tries by scything convenient and more expensive
science and business. But I just through tackles and throwing than chemical pesticides.
couldn’t think of how to link rugby around stylish passes.
to pesticides, until the wonderful However, a future trend will surely
England team provided me with But the point is that even if see chemical and biological
just the opportunity. England are unexciting and one- pesticides brought closer
dimensional (and that is open to together. Although integrated
First, though, a bit of background question), they know how to win pest management programmes
is required (and I apologise to games. They may not be as exciting already do this to an extent, there
those readers who don’t know to watch as the All Blacks, who at is still a need for more selective
much about rugby and/or really their best can be quite stunning, chemical pesticides and more
aren’t that interested in it). but they get the job done when it robust biopesticides and biological
England are (or were) the current matters. And the same is true of control agents that can work better
rugby world champions, but – for chemical pesticides. together.
a variety of reasons – they have
suffered a drastic drop in form Like the England rugby team, Okay, so it’s a bit of a forced
since the last Rugby World Cup and chemical pesticides are generally analogy to compare chemical
have slid down the world rankings. unloved and under-appreciated, pesticides to the England rugby
They also suffered a disastrous but they get the job done in terms team. But as I’ve already likened
start to this World Cup, struggling of controlling pests and increasing chemical pesticides to kettles
to beat the USA (which, in rugby crop yields. Indeed, chemical (see page 10), it’s obviously the
terms, is a minor country) and pesticides are an essential issue for forced analogies.
losing heavily to South Africa in the component of modern agriculture Come on England!
pool stages. and one of the main reasons why
food is plentiful in many countries Jon Evans
Then, in what has been called around the world. Nevertheless, Contributing Editor
one of the most stunning come- they are coming under increasing Agrow Magazine
backs in sporting history, they attack from environmental groups,
unexpectedly won their next four the general public and even
games, with the last two against a pesticide regulatory agencies,
couple of the favourites, Australia which are placing increasingly
and France, and are now in the severe restrictions on pesticide
final. The style of their winning use.
has, however, come in for some
criticism, especially from Australia Now, pesticides can clearly present
and New Zealand (which were put a danger to non-target organisms
out of the competition by France). and the environment, but that
danger can be over-blown. For
The charge is that England play example, although pesticides
an unexciting, one-dimensional probably cause the deaths of
game, in which the forwards (the hundreds of birds a year in Europe,
2 November 2007  •  www.agrow.com
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