A court ruling last week about the use of pesticides by lily growers could have a far-reaching impact on the flower industry, the AD reported on Monday.

Judges in Leeuwarden last week found in favour of a campaign group that had gone to court to stop the province of Friesland from turning a blind eye to the use of certain pesticides by growers.

Campaign group Meten=Weten argued that pesticides used by a farmer close to the Wold & Leggelderveld Natura 2000 reserve had been found kilometres away from the lily fields, causing damage to plants and killing insects and birds.

Friesland provincial authority had argued the impact was minimal, basing its response on research by testing company Eurofins which had shown no significant knock-on effect. But the court ruled the permit requirement cannot be ignored based on a presumed lack of impact, and this has implications further afield, experts say.

“The government now has a major problem,” campaign group spokesman Henk Baptist told the AD. “In its ruling… the court said that pesticides cannot be used without appropriate ecological testing.”

If a company cannot show there are no negative consequences, it will have to apply for a permit, Chris Backes, from the University of Utrecht, told the paper.

“Even though nothing was found in soil samples, the court has ruled that you cannot say with certainty there has not been any damage,” Backes said.

The province said in a reaction it is studying the verdict and that it has already been looking for ways to reduce pesticide use in the flower industry, local media reported.

There have been several court cases involving lily growers and pesticides in recent years. Pesticides used in lily growing have also been linked to neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS, and cancer and lilies require four times the amount of pesticides compared to other crops.