Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of methods of pest control, other than pesticides, on sugar beet crops as practised in the EU.

There are a range of measures other than pesticides that can help control aphids, which transmit plan viruses to sugar beet. These include early sowing; good hygiene to remove aphid sources; integrated pest management measures such as companion cropping, use of attractants and repellents; and virus-resistant crop varieties. Previous assessments indicated that these measures had not yet reached the point at which they could replace the need for all pesticides.