What have you got for worms?

“What have you got for worms?” has possibly been the most asked question I’ve received in the past year.

And unfortunately, my answer every single time has been a short and succinct “nothing” much to the frustration of all concerned. But why? And what are companies doing to bring through a safe and effective solution for the control of worms since carbendazim was banned over 12 months ago?

The benefits and challenges of earthworms in sports turf

In most situations in nature, earthworm activity is seen as beneficial. They can help break down organic matter, improve soil structure and aid the drainage of the soil. However, worm casts can muddy the surface leading to a thinning of the sward, weed invasion and softening of the surface and so in the sports turf world they can pose a serious challenge when trying to maintain the quality of the playing surface.

The impact of carbendazim withdrawal on turf management

Carbendazim was previously approved for and widely used as an effective treatment for the control of worm casts, however, since its withdrawal from the market in 2019 there has been no approved chemical solution to replace it, forcing turf managers to either accept the consequences of casting worms or to seek other forms of control. There has been an abundance of “biostimulant” type products and “soil conditioners” become available on the market with claims and counter claims yet you won’t find any in our brochure or on our website.

Exploring legal and effective alternatives to carbendazim

But why is that? Well trust us when we say we both understand and empathise with turf managers when it comes to the issue of worm casting but despite numerous research studies we are yet to come to a solution that we deem as both legal and effective and so have yet to unearth something we are happy to put our name to. We could not with a clear conscience market substances that clearly have pesticidal properties as nutritional, soil conditioning or biostimulatory.

So what’s preventing a legal and effective replacement for Carbendazim? Well the truth is its very hard, if not impossible, to currently receive regulatory approval for a product for the control of worm casts. I appreciate that’s not great news but I hope by shining some light on the current situation from a legislation and regulatory point of view as well as some of the challenges that reputable companies face in terms of producing an effective treatment I can bring some understanding to you that may relieve some of your frustration. Although a word of warning – if you’re hoping that I’ll be concluding with the offer of a proven and effective solution then you might want to stop reading here!

The role of research and development in finding worm cast solutions

Firstly, let’s look at why Carbendazim, was withdrawn from the market back in 2019. I often think the lack of explanation as to why products get revoked is part of the problem that leads to misinformation and ultimately frustration from a turf managers point of view. That message doesn’t always get communicated very well and it feels like we are almost left in the dark as to why a product we relied on to help deliver quality playing surfaces has suddenly been pulled from our arsenal.

Non-Chemical approaches to managing worm casts

Current regulations mean for a plant protection product to be approved for use it actually has to show that is doesn’t effect the lifecycle of worms – quite a challenge when the product you would want approval for does the absolute opposite! We need to remember the benefits worms bring to the health of soils and its for this reason they are protected under the regulations and that’s why products being approved for use have to show they do not pose a risk to the health of worms.

Regulatory and safety concerns with current worm cast treatments

How about an emergency approval like we saw with Acelepryn for the control of Leatherjackets and Chafer grubs but the control of worm casting? As I write this I’m not aware of any approved product in the turf industry overseas or in any other industry such as agriculture being used that would offer a solution for the control of worm casting on turf and so there doesn’t appear to be any obvious solution in terms of a candidate for emergency approval.

The future of worm cast control in turf management

The turf market, whilst is everything to us turfies, isn’t a big enough market to justify the cost of research and development to develop plant protection products solely specific to turf. The commercial aspect doesn’t stack up and especially when regulations mean even if you did discover an effective product that it is highly unlikely to be approved for sale, I think we can all understand why companies wouldn’t invest resource into this area.