Europe Soil Health - Trical Group

A stable and sustainable future rooted in healthy soil

A proven solution is needed to support farmers in a competitive landscape to supply affordable and healthy crops and to support stable sustainable and long-term production.

Today’s Challenges

Sustainable Solutions

Lack of Alternatives

Well-proven Solutions

Benefits

Regulatory Update

Product Stewardship

Healthy soil is vital to humans and the environment. The right conditions such as clean water, nutrient cycling, carbon storage and healthy soil are essential to provide a safe, nutritious and sufficient food supply. As part of the European Green Deal, the Commission announced in its EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 the aim of addressing soil degradation. In 2024, the Commission adopted a dedicated legislative proposal on soil health, with the aim for good soil health to be achieved across the EU by 2050.

The war in Ukraine has destabilized global food systems, intensified food security risks and vulnerabilities across the world, and amplified the EU's need to make its food systems sustainable and self-reliant.

Healthy soil is essential for farmers and the agronomic ecosystem overall. Maintaining or increasing soil fertility over the long term contributes to stable and higher yields of crops. Managing yield-limiting soil-dwelling pests is a critical component of a robust, sustainable crop production system.

Today’s challenges to grow healthy crops in the EU - food security

Farmers demand administrative simplifications, denounce "incomprehensible" European standards, and demand a "fair" price for products sold to the agro-industry

Yield gap opens the door to uncontrolled non-EU competition and price increases
Farmers available solutions to protect crops from pests are shrinking [1]
This is still very relevant after the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR) withdrawal [2]
Lack of available land prevents crop rotation, which leads to soil sickness and impacts current productivity

Challenges for crop production in the EU are discouraging farmers, leading to dissatisfaction and resulting in farmers no longer producing in Europe (food sovereignty)
Increasing yields every year is essential in the EU, but is impacted by the following

Decreasing available agricultural land
Increasing EU population
Inflationary pressures
Climate change, water scarcity and floods
Lack of adequate pest control strategies

Sustainable solutions for better yields

Chloropicrin and 1,3-D are used alone or in combination to treat soilborne fungi and nematodes, respectively. The use of chloropicrin and 1,3-D revitalizes non-productive agricultural soil and delivers:

A healthy plant with healthier roots to produce healthy fruits and vegetables.

A healthy plant more resilient to climate fluctuations and improved water use efficiency.

A healthy plant with increased yields and better-quality production. Increased yields allow growers to maximize productivity in reduced arable land.

A healthy plant requires less other conventional pesticides and fertilizers.

Chloropicrin and 1,3-D allow farmers to be competitive. These products are an essential part of protecting food sovereignty by allowing farmers to prep the soil for optimal plant growth ahead of planting.

Chloropicrin and 1,3-D preserve a healthy soil by allowing beneficial soil-micro-organisms populations to rebound post application. They can be used in association with biopesticides and solarization.

Both Chloropicrin and 1,3-D are applied into bare soil, and break down naturally into organic compounds, before anything is ever planted.

Greater carbon-fixing capability of crops and soils.

“We help feed the world by making farmers competitive with higher yields”

Lack of viable alternatives

Their use is limited to a few crops and situations where other remedies such as crop rotation, soilless culture, resistant varieties, and grafted plants are not viable.
Intensive cultivation results in significant soil pest increases, including disease and nematodes. This increases, is prevented by treatment of the soil with chloropicrin and 1,3-D. These increases are prevented by thetreatment of the soil with chloropicrin and 1,3-D.
Environmental exposure is limited because for crops like strawberries, nursery crops and vegetables treatment is done only once per year and for top fruits treatment is only once every 15 years.
Therefore, their use in the EU has been authorized in several Member States through the emergency procedure (art 53 1107/2009) since 2013.
A new dossier for the EU approval of chloropicrin and 1,3-D will be presented.
Revitalizing the soil allows for replant on the same land year after year while maintaining high yields and reduced grower production costs. This results in crop availability and price stability for consumers.

Well-proven safe solutions for today’s challenges

Highest degree of safety through a rigorously controlled application method

Pre-planting treatments, applied to the bare soil in the absence of crops
No chemical residues on crops or in the soil

Chloropicrin and 1,3-D benefits

Pre-planting soil fumigant safely used since 1955
1,3-D specifically targets plant parasitic nematodes
Chloropicrin targets fungi and other soilborne diseases
Left uncontrolled, fungi and nematodes can have a severe negative impact on agriculture crop production, with an estimated $157 billion in economic losses globally each year.
By treating the soil that will surround delicate roots, 1,3-D and chloropicrin treatments result in soil free of fungi and nematodes, giving the crop the best chance of success, leading to healthier plants, improved yields and better quality.

Soil revitalization

Regulatory update

The Member States Rapporteurs for the previous dossier, UK and Italy, have recommended approval of chloropicrin, following four years of in-depth assessment. A new dossier is currently being prepared.
For 1,3-D, a new dossier is currently being prepared for submission to its RMS, Greece.

“Powerful tools to help farmers grow more fresh fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious crops.”

Product stewardship

Responsible Use - Trained Applicators

Applications are done by fumigation companies and not applied by farmers. These specialized fumigation companies supply the chloropicrin and also do the application service. Applications are done by specialized personnel who are fully trained in Chloropicrin handling, storage and use, guaranteeing a high degree of control and compliance.
1,3-D is applied by professional companies as well as by certified growers.

Tarping

While chloropicrin is applied, the soil is simultaneously covered by a barrier plastic film. Application techniques have evolved, and the plastic used at the moment is Totally Impermeable Film (TIF) enhancing the protection of the surrounding environment.
This will also become a requirement in the 1,3-D dossier for EU approval.

Closed System

All fumigants are applied through a closed system

For chloropicrin, the product is applied directly from the steel cylinders into the soil either through injection pipes or through the irrigation system.
1,3-D is also applied through a closed system, directly from the steel cylinders into the soil either through injection pipes or through the irrigation system. 1, 3-D can also be applied through another closed system option, coming directly from steel drums utilizing a coupler and extraction/vapor recovery hoses.

Tracking

Chloropicrin is transported in cylinders from the formulation plant to the field and then back to the plant for refilling. Cylinders have a barcode and are always fully traceable throughout the supply chain.
1,3-D issues a certificate of analysis with each shipment, including the specific lot/batch number, allowing the product to be fully traceable throughout each step of the supply chain from transportation through the packaging of finished goods.

Today’s challenges to grow healthy crops in the EU - food security
Sustainable solutions for better yields
Lack of viable alternatives
Well-proven safe solutions for today’s challenges

Chloropicrin and 1,3-D benefits
Regulatory update
Product stewardship

Call for action

The manufacturers of chloropicrin and 1,3-D are taking all the necessary steps to present a new European dossier for EU approval. This is in response to farmers' needs to protect and increase their crop production in the EU.

We, therefore, request the authorities take a positive stand on chloropicrin and 1,3-D, equipping farmers with the necessary tools to continue producing healthy crops in healthy soil in Europe.

[1] According to IFAPA - research center of Andalucia - strawberries production has decreased 60% in the past two years due to absence of efficient soil treatments such as PIC and 13D. - Source Symposium de Sanidad Vegetal, Seville

[2] Green Deal/SUR Regulation
The European Green Deal should better consider the interests of consumers and farmers. This applies to issues such as new rules on the sustainable use of plant protection products (SUR) and unnecessary bureaucracy.
There is a need for sensible and sustainable measures to tackle issues such as food quality and food security.
The EU Directive 2009/128/EC of 21 October 2009 establishes a framework to achieve a sustainable use of pesticides by reducing the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and promoting the use of integrated pest management (IPM) and of alternative approaches or techniques such as non-chemical alternatives to pesticides.
On 6 February the Commission announced that it would withdraw this Proposal for a Regulation. This came as a response to the rejection of the file in Plenary, the lack of an agreed text in the Council and to the farmers protests which took place throughout the EU.