Facts: Pyralids
Pyralids is a collective name for several substances used in agriculture to control weeds both in Sweden and abroad.
Pyralids are approved both by the EU and in Sweden for use in agriculture, and according to the authorities do not harm humans.
The substance is difficult to degrade, and may remain as it passes through an animal’s body.
Sensitive plants, such as tomatoes, chilies, peppers and even other plants can be damaged.
According to Fritidsodlarnas Riksförbund, FOR, the damages are very characteristic. The leaves of tomato plants curl, and the plants can not develop.
The substance has been shown to end up in soil and manure in various ways. Animals, for example chickens, which receive grain as feed poop out of it, and when the manure is used to improve soil and make fertilizer products, the plants can be damaged. It can also make its way through residues from sugar beets, which are used to make liquid manure.
Source: Swedish Chemicals Agency, Swedish National Association of Leisure Growers
The poison comes from grain farms, and in various ways it finds its way into products sold in garden stores. Animals receive grain as feed, and then they poop out the toxic residues that can end up in, among other things, organic manure and soil.
Lena Israelsson, garden journalist and author, first discovered the problems in her own tomato plantations in 2020, and contacted the National Association of Leisure Growers.
– They got money for analyzes and surveysshe says.
It turned out that small, small amounts of pyralids, a plant protection product used in grain cultivation, were found in many different products.
Some plants, such as tomatoes, chilies and peppers, are very sensitive. The leaves curl, and the plant can not develop.
– From the beginning it was a compact opposition from the garden industry, but then they gave up. A lot of products were withdrawn, says Lena Israelsson.
Products were withdrawn
At the garden chain Plantagen, communications manager Charlotte Gjone says that the entire industry has the same problem. The plantation has put a lot of work into tracking the poison.
– We tested all products last year, and removed several from the shelves, she says.
The work of looking for the poison is still ongoing, but the crux is that the analyzes are not unambiguous, she explains. Some samples may be pure, while others contain small, small amounts.
– It is not clear what the source is, she says.
There are special soils and fertilizers that are guaranteed not to contain traces of the plant poison, and which can be used to grow the sensitive vegetables, she explains. Therefore, those who buy soil and fertilizer always need to ask in the store about pyralids, according to Charlotte Gjone.
Agneta Westerberg, head of department at the Swedish Chemicals Agency, says that the substance pyralides has been around for a long time, and is approved for grain cultivation in the EU. It is not toxic to humans with the limit values that apply, but some plants are very sensitive.
Chili is particularly sensitive to pyralids. Stock Photography.
– Now we have seen that plant parts that have been sprayed can remain and end up in fertilizers and soil improvers and cause problems in vegetable crops. It’s a difficult situation.
Professional growers are not affected in the same way as home growers, because manure that they often use is not made from manure.
One of the substances, clopyralides, which belong to the group of pyralids, has just been approved for use in the EU until 2036, says Agneta Westerberg. The Swedish Chemicals Agency is now testing and risk assessing products that contain the substance in order to be able to approve them.
– When we approve products, conditions must be written. We figure out what the conditions for using the funds should look like.
TT: Shouldn’t the substance be banned as it can be so harmful?
– There are no health risks for people with the use for grain cultivation, the National Food Administration has also looked at this.
Terms only for the first tier
However, the rules for approval only refer to the direct use, not for the next stage as funds can go on to manure and damage crops, she explains. That is why the EU has not wanted to impose a ban or rules on the substance. This is where the conditions should ensure use, she explains.
The question is, however, what will happen if the substance spreads a lot and destroys the growing environment for tomatoes and peppers, for example. Is there perhaps a risk that we can not cultivate such at all? Agneta Westerberg does not think so.
– The subject has been around for a long time. The risks apply above all to leisure growers. But it is clear, recreational growers can make demands on those who sell fertilizers to find out if there are pyralids in the fertilizers that are sold, says Agneta Westerberg.
Replacement
But anyone who has spent hundreds of kroner on soil, fertilizer and plants, and then happens to buy soil with pyralids, will of course be very disappointed. Not all hobby growers know the risks.
– If the soil does not meet expectations, it can be seen as a defect in the product, and then you should be able to complain to the seller, says Henric Jonsson, supervisor at the Swedish Consumer Agency’s Hallå Konsument.
The seller must then correct the error, in this case provide new, error-free soil, and also compensate for the damage caused by the soil when the plants died, he explains.
– You need to show that there is a defect in the product and document the defect. But you do not have to show what it is due to. It is the seller who has the burden of proof for two years, according to the new Consumer Purchase Act, says Henric Jonsson.