July 2002

Pesticide Registrations and Actions

  • ole2.gifThe Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has registered Bacillus subtilis var. amyloliquefaciens (Taegro®, EPA Reg. # 72098-5) for plant strengthening, growth enhancement, and suppression of certain diseases in forest and ornamental crops. The product was registered on June 10, 2002. (FDACS PREC Agenda, 7/11/02).

 

  • The EPA has issued a specific exemption under Section 18 of FIFRA allowing the use of carfentrazone-ethyl ole3.gif (Aim®, EPA Reg. # 279-3241) to manage paraquat-resistant nightshade, purslane, and morningglory in fruiting vegetables (pepper, tomato, eggplant). Applications may be made on up to 20,000 acres of tomato, 10,000 acres of pepper, and 1,000 acres of eggplant. A maximum of 0.096 pounds (6 fluid ounces of formulated product) may be applied per acre per year. Three to six applications may be made applying one to two fluid ounces of product per application. Allow 14 days between applications. Applications may be made only to row middles with a hooded sprayer. The pre-harvest interval is one day. The tolerance is 0.1 ppm in or on fruiting vegetables and 0.6 ppm on tomato paste or puree. The exemption expires on May 30, 2003. (FDACS letter of 6/5/02, Federal Register, 6/12/02).

  • The EPA has issued a specific exemption under Section 18 of FIFRA allowing the use of halosulfuron-methyl (Sandea®, EPA Reg. # 10163-254) to manage purple ole4.gif and yellow nutsedge in tomato. Applications may be made on up to 43,200 acres of tomato. A maximum of 0.094 pounds (2 ounces of formulated product) may be applied per acre per year. The material is to be applied only by ground (no air blast). Two applications may be applied as either: one pre-transplant soil surface treatment of 0.5 to 0.75 ounces of product, one “over-the-top” application 14 days after transplanting of 0.5 to 0.75 ounces of product, and/or postemergent application(s) of up to 1 ounce of product to the row middles between planted rows of tomato. The pre-harvest interval is 30 days. The tolerance is 0.05 ppm in or on tomato. The exemption expires on June 4, 2003. (FDACS letter of 6/7/02, Federal Register, 7/10/02).

  • ole5.gifThe EPA has issued a specific exemption under Section 18 of FIFRA allowing the use of fenbuconazole (Indar®, EPA Reg. #62719-421 or #707-239) to manage Septoria leaf spot and rust on blueberry [bearing acreage only since a 24(c) registration exists for non-bearing acreage]. Applications may be made on up to 1,460 acres of blueberry. A maximum of 0.47 pounds (10 ounces of formulated product) may be applied per acre per season. Up to five applications may be made applying up to two ounces of product per application. Applications may be made by air or ground, but are not permitted within 75 feet of water bodies. The pre-harvest interval is 30 days. Do not graze/feed animals treated foliage. The residues are not expected to exceed 1.0 ppm in or on blueberry. The exemption expires on May 31, 2003. (FDACS letter of 6/5/02).

  • termitesoldier.jpgOn June 6, FDACS approved four experimental use permits (EUPs) for Dow AgroSciences’ compound XDE-007 (N- 2,6-difluorobenzamide) for evaluation of its efficacy as a termiticide. (FDACS PREC Agenda, 7/11/02).

  • ole6.gifOn June 12, FDACS approved an EUP for Syngenta’s product thiamethoxam 25WG for evaluation of its efficacy against subterranean termites, carpenter ants in and around structures, and nuisance pests associated with the perimeter of structures. (FDACS PREC Agenda, 7/11/02).

  • ole7.gifMonsanto Company has received an amendment/extension from the EPA for an EUP regarding B.t. corn. The crop destruction requirement was dropped to allow for tissue and seed collection, and 9,400 acres of the corn can be planted until February 28, 2003 in multiple states, including Florida. (Federal Register, 6/26/02).

  • ole8.gifOn June 11, DuPont Crop Protection released a statement regarding a decision to phase out its azafenidin (Milestone®) herbicide. The company stated that the decision to discontinue this compound was reached after a thorough project review process that led to the conclusion that slow growth in sales, coupled with production and registration delays, plus increased costs, make it unlikely that the company could deliver a high value offering for users at a competitive price while achieving an adequate return on its investment. The herbicide was slated to become an atrazine replacement in a number of crops, including citrus and sugarcane. (DuPont memo of 6/11/02 to FDACS).

  • ole9.gifOn June 5, EPA published a final rule to revoke 73 tolerances for residues of the insecticides methyl parathion and ethyl parathion. These pesticides are in the first priority group for tolerance reassessment. The 73 tolerances are revoked because there are no registered uses for methyl parathion or ethyl parathion on these commodities. All uses of ethyl parathion have been canceled. There are 25 remaining crop uses for methyl parathion, and the 29 tolerances associated with these uses are not being revoked. Certain ethyl parathion tolerances expire on December 31, 2005. All others are revoked effective September 3, 2002. EPA is amending 40 CFR 180.121 to list only the remaining tolerances for methyl parathion and will create a new section, 40CFR 180.122, to list the tolerances for ethyl parathion that expire on December 31, 2005. EPA believes that affected commodities should have cleared channels of trade before the proposed effective dates of these tolerance revocations. Commodities containing pesticide residues not covered by a tolerance are considered to be adulterated and are subject to seizure. (EPA OPP Update, 6/6/02).

  • ole10.gifOn June 5, EPA announced the tolerance reassessment decision for propanil. Propanil is a selective post-emergent herbicide registered on rice, barley, oat, and spring wheat to control broadleaf and grass weeds. Propanil is also registered (but not currently marketed) for turf use at commercial sod farms. The Agency's reassessment of dietary risk, including public exposure through food and drinking water indicates that propanil poses no risk concerns; therefore, no risk mitigation is needed and no further actions related to dietary risk are warranted at this time. The Agency will complete a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) document for propanil later in 2002. The RED will address risk to workers and the environment and any additional data requirements. Also, some commodity definitions must be updated. The established tolerances remain in effect until such time as a full reassessment of the cumulative risk from all anilide pesticides, such as propanil, may be needed and completed. (EPA OPP Update, 6/6/02).

  • ole11.gifAt the request of Dow AgroSciences, the EPA has granted a time limited tolerance for the herbicide cyhalofop-butyl and related metabolite in or on rice grain (0.03 ppm) and rice straw (8 ppm). The tolerance will expire on June 1, 2007. (Federal Register, 6/4/02).

  • ole12.gifAt the request of Uniroyal Chemical Company, the EPA has granted tolerances for the fungicide triflumizole and metabolites in or on cucurbit vegetables (0.5 ppm), strawberry (2.0 ppm), and sweet/tart cherry (1.5 ppm). (Federal Register, 6/12/02).

  • ole13.gifOn June 13, the EPA announced the request by Aventis CropScience to delete nonbearing citrus tree from their Mocap® EC (ethoprop, EPA Reg. # 264-458) product label. (Federal Register, 6/13/02).

  • ole14.gifOn June 13, the EPA announced the request by Universal Cooperatives to delete clover from their Trifluralin 4 EC (EPA Reg. # 1386-609) product label. (Federal Register, 6/13/02).

     

  • ole15.gifThe EPA has reviewed existing tolerances for difenzoquat, diquat dibromide, fenbutatin-oxide, linuron, and norflurazon, and considers the 206 associated tolerances reassessed as having met the safety standard under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. EPA had completed Reregistration Eligibility Decisions (REDs) for these four pesticides in the mid-1990s, prior to enactment of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996. The Agency must review tolerances and tolerance exemptions that were in effect when FQPA was enacted to ensure that these existing pesticide residue limits for food and feed commodities meet the safety standard brought about by that Act. (EPA OPP Update, 6/19/02 & 7/1/02).

  • ole16.gifAn examination of the acute dietary risk of endosulfan has revealed that for certain groups, dietary risks are slightly greater than allowed. Consequently, green bean, pea, summer squash, spinach and tomato are crops for which the use of this material may be deleted. (Endosulfan Task Force release of 6/7/02).

  • ole17.gifOn June 4, the EPA's Reduced Risk Committee granted conventional "reduced-risk" status to the miticide, acequinocyl, for use on field ornamentals, pome fruit, citrus, and almonds. This chemical controls two spotted spider mites, European red mites, and citrus red mites on these crops. The major metabolite of acequinocyl inhibits electron transfer by binding at Complex III in the mitochondrion. This is a unique mode of action and the chemical should help with IPM and resistance management. (USDA OPMP Newest News, 7/1/02).

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