The apple orchards in Vinschgau are Europe's orchard. But pesticide-intensive cultivation poses a problem. A study provides worrying results.
Schlanders – The west of South Tyrol is actually a small Garden of Eden, a paradise on earth. There are not only rugged mountain ranges, picturesque towns and enchanted lakes. Surrounded by the Ortler Group and the Ötztal Alps, the largest contiguous fruit-growing region in Europe is also hidden in the Vinschgau. Around half of all apples in Italy and around one in ten apples grown in Europe come from the valley. Many of them end up in German supermarkets.
In order to fulfill this role and keep pests away, South Tyrolean farmers use pesticides, i.e. plant protection products, several times throughout the year when growing apples. Although these substances, some of which are toxic, are spread on the extensive apple orchards, they spread to high altitudes. This has now been published study the Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna (BOKU).
Scientists are taking a closer look at the spread of pesticides in Vinschgau
The team led by environmental scientist Carsten Brühl from the RPTU examined eleven so-called elevation transects along the valley axis, as stretches from the valley floor to the mountain peaks. Samples were taken every 300 meters along these routes on four days in May 2022. Plant material and soil samples were collected at a total of 53 locations. “From an ecotoxicological point of view, the Vinschgau Valley is particularly interesting because the valley has highly intensive cultivation with a lot of pesticides and the mountains have sensitive alpine ecosystems, some of which are strictly protected,” says Brühl.
Until now, even some experts had assumed that synthetic pesticides and pesticides would essentially remain in the apple orchard and could only spread in the surrounding area. Worrying enough: Pesticide residues have already been detected several times in playgrounds in Vinschgau, including the one South Tyrolean daily newspaper reported.
However, at the request of the South Tyrolean Apple Consortium IPPEN.MEDIA points out that pesticide residues on public areas have decreased significantly in the period from 2018 to 2022, as one study of the South Tyrolean medical company in collaboration with the Laimburg test center.
Plant protection products have been detected in South Tyrol far beyond cultivated areas
Nevertheless, studies in recent years have already shown that pesticides can spread significantly beyond agricultural areas and, for example, pollute insects in nature reserves. In Vinschgau, a decline in butterflies on mountain meadows was observed several years ago, writes the BOKU Vienna in an article broadcast. Now it delivers in the specialist journal Communications Earth & Environment published study provides a possible explanation for this.
Contrary to what was previously generally assumed, the researchers report that plant protection and pesticides in Vinschgau are not only found in the plants and the surrounding area. Overall, pesticides would decrease at higher altitudes and at greater distances from the growing areas, but pesticides were detected even in areas with hardly any apple cultivation, such as the upper Vinschgau.
Nearly 30 pesticides detected, including in remote mountain valleys and peaks
In total, the researchers detected 27 pesticides, including ten insecticides, eleven fungicides and six herbicides. Among the substances found in around half of the samples was the insecticide methoxyfenozide, which has been banned in Germany since 2018. “We found the resources in remote mountain valleys, on mountain peaks and in national parks. They have no business there,” explained Brühl. The substances would spread further in the valley than previously assumed due to the sometimes strong wind and thermals.
We found the resources in remote mountain valleys, on mountain peaks and in national parks. They have no business there.
“The concentrations we found were not high, but it has been proven that pesticides affect soil life even at very low concentrations,” explained co-author Johann Zaller from BOKU Vienna. We are talking about so-called sublethal, i.e. not directly fatal, effects on organisms. In the case of butterflies, the pesticides could result in reduced egg laying.
Pesticide issue in South Tyrol: Researchers see “new dimension of the problem”
How exactly the pesticides affect nature in low concentrations is still largely unclear. It also still needs to be clarified what effect crop protection products have when they interact with each other. When assessing environmental risks as part of the approval process, mixtures would not be taken into account and the substances would only be considered individually. “This has nothing to do with the reality of the applications on the field or in the orchard and the fate in the environment,” says Brühl.
The study authors consider it necessary to rethink cultivation practices in Vinschgau and other regions with pesticide-intensive agriculture, as well as to optimize pesticide application itself. “We know from previous studies that children's playgrounds near apple orchards are contaminated with pesticides. “Sometimes even all year round,” says co-author and pesticide critic Koen Hertoge, who lives in Vinschgau himself. The latest results reveal a “new dimension of the problem” because even distant areas are contaminated with pesticides.
Politicians must take “measures to protect nature and the health of the population”.
The researchers are also calling for a drastic reduction in the use of pesticides. The private one It was only in 2023 that the Munich Environmental Institute evaluated the “spraying diaries” of 681 apple growing companies from the South Tyrolean region of Vinschgau. No fewer than 590,000 pesticide uses were recorded for 2017. In view of the problem, the South Tyrolean state government is called upon to take “measures to protect nature and the health of the population,” said Hertoge.
However, South Tyrol's politicians have previously shown little insight into the pesticide debate and have even responded to protests by environmentalists and pesticide opponents with a lawsuit. The office of the responsible state councilor for agriculture, Luis Walcher, has not yet received any response to this request.
Umbrella Association of Apple Growers: “Use plant protection products only when necessary.”
In a statement from the South Tyrolean Apple Consortium it is pointed out that “the study does not determine that the legally permitted maximum amounts have been exceeded.” In addition, the umbrella organization has long been concerned with the reduction of synthetic pesticides and the associated reduction in drift.
“Farmers only use plant protection products when it is necessary and otherwise significant damage to fruit or trees is to be expected,” says the apple consortium. And further: “An economical use of plant protection products is in the farmers' own interest, as their use involves considerable costs and a lot of time.” According to the umbrella organization, natural methods have priority in plant protection in South Tyrolean fruit cultivation. (jm/dpa)
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