Apparently, some Swiss wine grape growers have complained to the company that they had deformed leaves on the vines as well as lower crop yields in 2014.
Referring to the complaints as “atypical symptoms,” the company on its website issued a statement saying: “As long as the cause of this change in the grape vines remains unexplained, we recommend for precautionary reasons not to use (Moon Privilege, or as it is also known), Luna Privilege for wine growing.”
The statement also added that Bayer regrets the inconvenience and is doing everything possible to discover the cause of the problem. On Sunday, the Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper said that Swiss wine grape growers were demanding compensation for their crop losses, according to the Business Insider.
“The damage will, in any event, be in the three-digit millions (of Swiss francs),” Andreas Meier, a grower in the northern Swiss canton of Aargau, was quoted by Business Insider as saying. Bayer had also acknowledged in a letter to growers that there was a “high probability” of a connection between the fungicide and damage to the 2015 crop.
Bayer CropScience did not respond to Reuters’ telephone or email requests for comment on this story on Sunday.
Bayer’s Moon Privilege is used in many countries around the world as a protective fungicide against Botrytis cinerea. also called Gray mold, Botrytis rot or gray mold-rot. The fungicide contains fluopyram, a new chemical discovered in 1999 that is active against a number of diseases.
Particularly interesting is the long list of hazards associated with this fungicide, but apparently, it is still labeled as being safe. But users are cautioned not to let animals graze in orchards sprayed with the stuff, or in pastures next to fields where it is used.
Both Norway and Minnesota agricultural scientists have warned that there is a high potential for runoff several months after application of Moon Privilege, and advisories concerning surface water and groundwater contamination. In New Zealand, there is actually a period of time called the “bees in” date that must be met if using the chemical.
