LONDON (Reuters) - The rapeseed area in England for the 2019 harvest has fallen to a 16-year low following a poor establishment of crops last autumn and damage by flea beetles, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board said on Friday.
"The challenges being faced with oilseed rape have resulted in the lowest area since 2003. In place of oilseed rape has been an increased cereal area," AHDB analyst Peter Collier said, issuing results of its annual planting survey.
The rapeseed area in England fell 11% to 483,000 hectares while in Scotland it dropped 6% to 31,000 hectares, according to the survey.
Flea beetles have posed a growing threat to British rapeseed due to European Union restrictions on the use of insecticides known as neonicotinoids to protect bees.
The wheat area in Britain was estimated at 1.80 million hectares, up 4% from 2018 with almost all regions of England and Scotland reporting an increase.
(Reporting by Nigel Hunt)
