Potato Review

16 POTATO REVIEW NOVEMBER 2021 BIOSTIMULANTS B IOSTIMULANT manufacturers are becoming increasingly frustrated with regulatory delays from the British Government which they say could ultimately lead to growers not having access to products in 2023. Defra is evaluating regulatory approaches to biostimulants under its ‘Creating an Enabling Regulatory Environment for Enhanced Efficiency Fertilisers’ project. RSK ADAS Ltd was contracted by Defra for project 31280 “Creating an Enabling Regulatory Environment for Enhanced Efficiency Fertilisers” and submitted its report to Defra at the end of May 2021, having undertaken a survey of biostimulant manufacturers and importers in the UK. Sixty companies had been contacted directly with a questionnaire and deadline for their responses was April 30th, ‘Delays could weaken grower armoury’ As Defra consultation deadline is extended, manufacturer concerns mount over research timescales. 2021. The industry consultation period was expected to take place in June and July. Defra was due to publish the results of its consultation in August, but the industry has been told this has been delayed. “Defra is running behind schedule and we still do not know when the consultation documents will be issued,” a statement revealed. The consultation is now expected to end in October 2021. Small research window In the meantime, the industry has been awaiting an update on when it can expect to see the proposed regulatory options. Simon Fox, owner of Emerald Research, says the delays could have a detrimental effect on growth of potatoes and other crops as it leaves a very small window for manufacturers to collate the necessary information for products to meet the required criteria. A worse case scenario could therefore leave growers without their biostimulant armoury while data is collected, he said. “The proposed timeline indicates that Defra’s ambition is to have the new regulatory framework fully implemented by September 2022. This leaves the industry very concerned that they will potentially only have one growing season in which to meet the research demands of the legislation (depending on if they are willing to accept previous trial results or not),” said Simon. “This could result in farmers and growers having little or no choice of biostimulant products in the 2023 season, instead having