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July 2002
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Pesticide
Potpourri
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Recently, there has been a number of products
advertised as mosquito traps. One type
generates carbon dioxide to lure the mosquito
and then sucks it into a bag. Other derivations
use octenol as an attractant. The devices range
from a few hundred to fifteen hundred dollars in
cost. Gas and
octenol must be
replaced at various
intervals.
Researchers are
currently
investigating the
efficacy of these
units. However, one
might want to keep in mind that there are 77
different species of mosquito in Florida, and
each of these varies in what host they bite, the
time of day they feed, and how far they can fly.
One of the species which is a primary biting pest
for homeowners is the Asian tiger mosquito.
This species is not attracted by carbon dioxide
or octenol. At this point, no evidence exists that
these traps can play a noticeable role in the
decline of mosquito populations. For more
information call Dr. Roxanne Rutledge at 772
778-7200 x 158. (IFAS/FMEL release,
6/13/02).
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 The Bureau of Compliance Monitoring in
FDACS has approved eight UF/IFAS CEU
software tutorials to fulfill the new required
IPM training for technicians or ID card holders
in Florida. Topics
of the tutorials
include beneficial
insects, ornamental
insects and
turfgrass insects.
For more
information, go to http://pests.ifas.ufl.edu/software/.
(Florida Pest Alert, 6/13/02).
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 On June 11, the endosulfan team members from
EPA met with representatives of Makhteshim-Agan and Aventis (Endosulfan Task Force) to
discuss mitigation options regarding the
ecological risks
associated with
the reregistration
eligibility
decision on endosulfan.
Although the
Task Force was
not in complete agreement with the Agency’s
interpretation of the endosulfan assessment, they
did agree to consider steps to mitigate potential
aquatic exposure. These steps included
maintaining vegetative buffer strips to limit
runoff, reducing application rates, restricting use
on highly erodible lands, geographic restrictions
by crop, surface water monitoring, and
increased outreach to growers to better educate
them on the proper usage of endosulfan.
Because atmospheric transport of endosulfan
has been linked to declines in endangered
species populations, the focus of mitigation is
not limited to reducing runoff; rather, mitigation
must include reducing the atmospheric
endosulfan load (USDA OPMP Newest News,
6/17/02).
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 Members of EPA’s Biopesticides and Pollution
Prevention Division met with the members of
the Quinone Oxidase Inhibitor Working Group,
part of the North American Fungicide
Resistance Action Committee, to discuss the
implementation of the PR Notice 2001-5
regarding resistance
management labeling.
The members of
QOIWG consist of
technical and
regulatory members
of Bayer (that now
includes Aventis), DuPont, BASF, and Syngenta. The QOI
fungicide class
includes the strobilurin (e.g., azoxystrobin,
trifloxystrobin) and the non-strobilurin (e.g. famoxadone) fungicides. Resistance to these
fungicides exists worldwide and the group is
developing principles for resistance
management tailored to North America. Both
BASF and Bayer have new fungicide active
ingredients in the QOI class that are awaiting
Agency approval. These registrants are
interested in adopting the recommendations of
PR Notice 2001-5, as long as their registration
timetables are not delayed. (USDA OPMP
Newest News, 6/17/02).
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 The USDA has announced plans to reorganize
its biotechnology regulatory functions, including
creation of an
Office of
Biotechnology
Regulatory
Services.
Twenty-five
staff positions
will be moved from Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service - currently responsible for
transgenic plant imports, interstate movement,
and release into the environment - and 37
positions created to facilitate USDA’s
interaction with EPA and FDA. (CropLife
America Spotlight, 6/28/02).
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 Observing the 40th anniversary of Silent Spring,
author Ronald Bailey wrote in a recent issue of
Reason that "The great cancer scare launched by
Rachel Carson and perpetuated by her believers
ever since, should have been put to rest by the
1996 National
Academy of
Sciences report on
carcinogens in
human diets. That
report concluded
natural diet
components may
prove of greater
concern than
synthetic with
respect to cancer risk.” Bailey concluded that
Carson may have been ignorant of facts at the
time, "but after four decades in which tens of
billions of dollars have been wasted chasing
imaginary risks, her intellectual descendants
don't have the same excuse." Access at http://reason.com/rb/rb061202.shtml. (CropLife
America Spotlight, 6/28/02).
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 At a meeting with the state FIFRA regulator
advisory group (SFIREG) in late June, the EPA
announced plans to establish a state/federal
working group to review new
pesticide active ingredients for
water quality implications. As
a pilot case, one new active
ingredient will be reviewed by
EPA and regulatory officials
from agricultural departments in Iowa, South
Dakota and Texas. What the outcome of such
reviews will mean has yet to be announced by
the Agency. (CropLife America Spotlight,
6/28/02).
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 Another topic of the SFIREG meeting was that
of home-use of chlorpyrifos. This group is in
the process of
collecting data
to determine
how much
product is still
being found
after the retail
stop sale date
of December
31, 2001. To
date they have found approximately 6,000
pounds in 10 states. It appears that even with
EPA as well as state and regional
communications to all registrants and retail
associations, many small retail stores were not
aware of the stop sale date for chlorpyrifos
homeowner use products. (USDA OPMP
Newest News, 7/1/02).
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Some people may be aware of the new herbicide
Callisto® (mesotrione), and the potential
interaction with
certain
organophosphate
soil insecticides.
The label  states,
"Severe corn injury
may occur if
Callisto® is applied
postemergence to
corn crops that were treated with Counter® or
Lorsban®, which may result in corn crop yield
loss." Spring trials conducted on a Michigan
research farm demonstrated why this statement
is included on the label. Severe injury was
observed from the combination of Counter® (terbufos) in-furrow with Callisto®
postemergence. Corn injury was less when
Counter® was applied in a T-band, but was still
significant. Temporary corn injury also
occurred from Lorsban® (chlorpyrifos) T-band
followed by Callisto® postemergence.
However, Callisto® injury with Lorsban® was
less than with Counter®. (Michigan Field Crop
IPM Newsletter, Vol. 17, No. 10).
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A new root-knot nematode has been identified
in three Florida locations (a commercial tomato
field, an ornamental nursery, and a tropical fruit
nursery). The  nematode, Meloidogyne
mayaguensis, is considered a tropical/subtropical nematode, and has been
reported in the field from Puerto Rico, Cuba,
Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Martinique,
Tobago, Trinidad,
Brazil, and four
African countries
(Burkina Faso, Ivory
Coast, Senegal, and
South Africa). Its
potential host range is
wide, but several crop plants are reported as
primary hosts, including coffee, guava, tomato,
tobacco, eggplant, and bell pepper. The
potential economic damage is unclear, but this
nematode is known to be more capable of
breaking cultivar resistance, particularly in
tomatoes, soybeans, and sweet potatoes, than
other co-occurring tropical species. (ProMED
mail, 6/24/02 via AgNet).
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The 2002 International Research Conference on Methyl Bromide Alternatives & Emissions Reduction is scheduled for November 6-9. The conference will be at The Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando. For more information, go to http://www.mbao.org. (FFAA Florida Focus 6/10/02).