Plant protection products (herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, etc.) act against organisms that are harmful to plant health. The use of these products, particularly those derived from synthetic chemistry, has come under considerable scrutiny in Switzerland in recent years. The range of products authorised by Swiss legislation is constantly decreasing, and the conditions governing their application have become increasingly strict. This development affects all areas in which these products are used, including golf courses.
Underlying these restrictions are concerns about protecting public health and the environment. The aim is to reduce the health risk for people who come into direct contact with these products (farmers, gardeners, etc.), as well as those who are indirectly exposed to them (consumers, walkers or users of sports fields). The impact of these products on the environment (pollution of ground and surface water, accumulation in soil, damage to biodiversity) is also a key concern.
Swiss Golf considers this to be a priority issue, and believes that Swiss clubs should prepare for a possible total ban on synthetic plant protection products by the end of the decade. It should be noted that such bans are already in place - or about to be introduced - in neighbouring countries. In Belgium, Wallonia banned all synthetic plant protection products in 2018, and this ban also applies to golf courses. In France, the Labbé law requires all French sports grounds, including golf courses, to be maintained without these products from 1 January 2025.
Maintaining golf courses without synthetic phytosanitary products represents a major challenge for the golfing sector, which will have to develop alternative approaches, including greater use of mechanical operations (aeration, sanding) to make surfaces more resistant, new varieties of turf, improving the microfauna in the soil, and changing the cutting height.
Research is currently being carried out in Switzerland, as well as in Europe under the aegis of the European Golf Association (EGA), to identify the various measures that will ensure the quality of golf courses without the use of synthetic plant protection products. And let's not forget that, while it represents a major challenge for the golfing sector, the reduced use of synthetic plant protection products will have positive effects for the health of maintenance staff and golfers, as well as helping to preserve the environment.
Changes in Swiss regulations concerning synthetic plant protection products are already having an impact on the work of the greenkeepers at Golf de Lavaux, forcing them to review certain practices.
In recent years, many products have been withdrawn from the Swiss market and have not been replaced. One example is chlorothalonil, a broad-spectrum fungicide used to treat greens and teeing areas, which was banned in 2020. Strobilurin-type fungicides, which used to be applied as a preventive measure up to 8 or 9 times a year, are now limited to 3 annual applications, meaning that greenkeepers only use them for curative treatments. Other products, notably herbicides and insecticides, are being replaced by less effective biological substitutes. Clover thrives on the clay soil of the Golf de Lavaux, and the likely ban on chemical herbicides to limit its spread will present a real challenge for our greenkeepers.
At Lavaux, the greenkeepers are implementing various measures to adapt. They have reduced the number and frequency of treatments on all playing surfaces. In 2023, there were no insecticide treatments and only 4 fungicide applications on the greens; on the teeing areas, fairways and roughs, only one herbicide treatment was carried out.
Among the techniques used by our greenkeepers to remedy the disappearance of certain phytosanitary products are: regular aeration of the greens by spiking, in addition to coring; preserving and improving the microfauna in the soil; combating bluegrass and using other varieties of grass that are more resistant and less water-hungry (bentgrass and fescue). Other measures are being studied.
Swiss legislation also imposes strict rules on the application of plant protection products in the field. In particular, certain minimum distances must be respected near sensitive areas such as surface waters, hedges and forest edges. For example, along watercourses or ponds, a minimum strip of 3m must be kept clear of any spraying of plant protection products or fertilisers. These minimum distances may also vary according to the type of product used or the topography of the land.
The tightening of the Swiss regulatory framework concerning synthetic plant protection products may sometimes have a visible impact on players, even though our teams work daily to develop solutions that preserve the quality of the game while complying with the new requirements.
Finally, it is important to emphasise that this change has nothing to do with the GEO certification obtained by Golf de Lavaux in 2023. It is solely due to the requirements laid down by the Swiss authorities.
