08 Mar 2024 — The new 2024 Rothamsted Virus Yellows forecast predicts a UK-wide Virus Yellows infection affecting sugar beet crops at an incidence of 83%, which is above the threshold identified by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra). This means farmers are now authorized to treat crops with neonicotinoids, which were banned previously in the UK and currently in the EU.