Italy's corn production, which some farmers believe has been hurt by a ban on pesticides feared to harm bees, fell further than expected this year, an official report has shown.

Statistics agency Istat has pegged the national corn harvest - Europe's second biggest - at 8.28m tonnes, down 15.4% year on year and below other forecasts.

Agricultural research centre Ismea three weeks ago put production at 8.52m tonnes, while Coceral, the Brussels-based grains pressure group, has estimated the crop at 8.80m tonnes.

Bee protection 

The slip reflects in part lower plantings. Farmers sowed 943,000 hectares this year, down 4.9% year on year, according to official data.

However, the decline also follows claims by some farmers that yields have been cut by a temporary ban on neonicotinoids - pesticides based on artificial forms of nicotine - which are considered by some environmentalists as a primary cause behind steep declines in bee populations.

"Sources report the suspension on these insecticides, which are used largely on corn seeds, has resulted in a 5% decrease in corn yields this year," a briefing last month from US staff said.

Spray companies have denied environmentalists' allegations. 

Other observers have also noted damage caused by heat stress to Italian corn.

Durum output slips

Istat also raised its estimate of Italy's soft wheat output from 2.95m tonnes to 3.27m tonnes.

Italy's production of durum, the type of wheat used in pasta, was pegged at 4.11m tonnes, down 30,000 tonnes from the previous estimate.

The figure for barley output was cut by 100,000 tonnes to 1.1m tonnes despite an increase of 18,600 hectares in Istat's estimate for plantings.