Copper Usage Controversy Heats up in Europe

Copper is a hot topic in Europe. Copper has replaced gold as a currency standard because of its apparent longevity once minted into coins. Another reason copper is present in such high proportions in the new Euro currency coins is its apparent antibacterial characteristics and its low risk of inducing allergic reaction for anyone handling the new coins. Its malleability allows for distinct edges and clear images on the face of various coins. The edge of each denomination is different in order to facilitate recognition of the different coins by the visually impaired.

All well and good, however, the discussion here is not about coins but about the use of copper in agricultural sprays. As LBI, a Dutch agricultural advisory service explains in their annual report " The use of copper is difficult to explain to the EKO consumer and its approval is being questioned at the European level and recently (2000) prohibited in the Netherlands"

In Ontario, we know from experience that copper in various formulations is extremely useful as a biocidal material and has the capability to impact the spread of various infectious disease organisms like bacterial canker of cherry, anthracnose canker of apple and scab in the early season. In fact, it will clean up a variety of infections that other treatments have difficulty with. Copper sprays have a long history of use in Europe.

It is rare to hear European speakers talk about sprays and crop protection without mention of Copper. Its usage varies from country to country. France has no restrictions on copper use while the Netherlands has banned it. The Swiss can use up to a certain amount per hectare while high end private labels like the Demeter label prohibits the use of copper sprays for production of any of its products.

European agronomists and horticulturists are now scrambling to find replacement technologies and crop protection programs for a variety of crops. In Ontario, copper is found in various formulations and is registered for different uses on a variety of crops. Our organic industry can use copper on a restricted basis as a micronutrient and as a fungicide in the form of copper sulfate. Both uses have to be detailed in the users' chronological log record.

Apparently there are issues around the impact of excessive amounts of copper on soil ecology. Copper appears to express an analogous level of longevity in the environment as it does in a simple object like a coin. We cannot forget that copper is also a required micronutrient involved in electron transfer at the cellular level. In soils, copper bonds very strongly to organic substances and when mineralized, has a very low solubility that is pH dependent (increasing as the soil becomes more acidic). Soil applications as low as 1.2 -2.5 kg Cu/ha have more or less corrected soil deficiencies for certain crops in Western Australia for an extended period of time. We will have to wait and see what transpires in Europe regarding its usage pattern.

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