March 2004

Pesticide Potpourri

  • wpdoc12.gifOn February 23, France announced that it was immediately suspending all sales of fipronil-containing pesticides and that this order will remain in place pending conclusion of a European Union review that is scheduled to go through 2005. Seed coated with the pesticide already purchased for planting will be allowed to be planted this spring. It appears that French beekeepers are under the assumption that seed treatment with either fipronil or imidacloprid leads to higher-than-normal death rates for bees. Imidacloprid-treated seeds have been banned since the late 1990s in France. Both BASF (fipronil) and Bayer CropScience (imidacloprid) and its top executes are now under investigation for accusations of: marketing toxic agricultural products dangerous to human and animal health, fraud over the origin or qualities of merchandise, marketing products without sufficient authorization, violations of the public health code, and providing false information to obtain government authorization. (Chemical Regulation Reporter, 3/1/04).
  • Mendocino County voters approved the nation's first ban on the raising and keeping of genetically engineered crops or animals. Measure H was passed March 2 by 57 percent of Mendocino County voters voting on the initiative. (FFAA Update, 3/3/04).
  • wpdoc13.gifGround was broken on February 3 for a new agricultural interdiction station on I-10, just outside of Pensacola. In addition the to other 22 stations situated along the Suwannee and St. Mary’s rivers, the station will house several mobile units which can be dispatched to provide temporary and random inspections for the prevention of potential biological and agricultural terrorism. Gamma ray trucks capable of scanning a semi- trailer truck in seconds, as well as dog teams will be dispatched to any location to search for contraband on an as-needed basis. (Citrus & Vegetable Magazine, February 2004).
  • ole.gifA new website provides a portal to a database that compiles information from all the U.S. government agencies responsible for regulating genetically engineered crop plants. Users will have access to information about the U.S. oversight system for products of modern biotechnology, including the roles of the U.S. regulatory agencies; the laws, regulations, and procedures applicable to these products; and information the regulatory agencies have produced in reviewing each product. The centerpiece of the site is a searchable database of genetically engineered crop plants intended for food or feed that have completed all recommended or required reviews for food, feed, or planting use in the United States. In an effort to increase the transparency of biotechnology regulatory information, the various U.S. agencies responsible for regulating products developed through biotechnology worked together to create this site and database. The participating agencies include the Department of State, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The public can access the website and database at the following address: http://usbiotechreg.nbii.gov. (EPA OPP Update, 2/17/04).
  • ole1.gifThe Swedish government announced in early February that it plans to sue the European Union over its decision to allow continued use of the herbicide paraquat, which was banned in Sweden in 1983. In October, the European Commission’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain & Animal Health voted to include paraquat on a list of authorized substances despite opposition from trade unions. (Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, 2/9/04).
  • wpdoc14.gifThe Florida Supreme Court backed the state's citrus canker-eradication program in February, a ruling that probably will mean more chainsaw-wielding workers cutting down orange trees in South Florida yards in coming months. In a 6-0 decision, the court ruled constitutional the law that allows the Department of Agriculture to chop down privately owned citrus trees within 1,900 feet of canker-infected trees. Eradication program spokesman Mark Fagan was cited as saying the decision means, after years of stops and starts, workers can get back to work in earnest, adding, "We're in the planning stages right now. We'll have to determine how many people we have to rehire. At one point, program-wide, we had 1,800 employees, and now we're down to 400. We'll be recalling people and retraining them." (South Florida Sun- Sentinel, 2/13/04 via AgNet).
  • wpdoc15.gifA Nicaraguan court has ordered three multinationals, Shell Chemical, Dole Foods and Standard Fruit to pay $82.9 million to 80 farmers allegedly made sick by the fumigant Nemagon® (dibromochloropropane) on banana plantations in the 1970s. Managua civil court justice Vida Benavente's ruling means about one million dollars would go to each of the plaintiffs. This is the second trial won by Nicaraguan farmers in local courts over the widespread use of Nemagon®. (Agence France Presse, 3/3/04 via AgNet).
  • wpdoc16.gifPalms are unlike many plant families in the fact that they provide both food and shelter to people, while at the same time are admired and collected for aesthetic reasons. But the same structure that gives the palm so many wonderful attributes is the same structure that makes them susceptible to lethal and destructive diseases. According to UF researcher Dr. Monica Elliott, the palm's anatomy is more similar to that of a corn plant than that of an oak tree, with each stem having a single bud or heart. Once that tissue is damaged, death is likely. "Palms cannot repair injuries to their stems, and diligent effort must be made to prevent injuries that create opportunities for insect or pathogen invasion of the trunk." she said. Ganoderma butt rot and Phytophthora bud rot are just two of the most problematic diseases of palms. Ganoderma butt rot, caused by the fungus Ganoderma zonatum, is prevalent in Florida, where it has been found on more than 50 palm species. "Ganoderma butt rot is always a lethal disease of palms," said Elliott. "By the time symptoms develop, usually more than half of the lower trunk has been killed by the fungus.” In Florida, palm trees of 58 species have died from this fungus and no effective controls are known for this disease. Phytophthora bud rot can be caused by several species of Phytophthora, and occurs in most places where palms are grown. This pathogen has been reported on palms from more than 20 countries as well as from California, Florida, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. In total, the genus Phytophthora has a broad host range and has been reported to attack more than 25 palm species. (APS Press Release, 3/4/04 via AgNet).
  • Tropical leaves, scientists are discovering, are chock-full of microscopic fungi and are pummeled by them daily. A single leaf in a jungle is battered by more than 10,000 spores a day, each aiming to penetrate and take up residence. Scientists studying the cocoa tree, whose beans are used to make chocolate or cocoa, say these fungi, which many had suspected were parasites, are actually powerful protectors able to fend off plant diseases. Cocoa tree farming has traditionally moved from country to country to escape the diseases that plague the vulnerable plant. The new findings provide hope for inexpensive and environmentally agreeable ways to protect the trees. But the work has implications far beyond chocolate, scientists say, suggesting a huge world of mutually beneficial biological interactions. The discovery has already begun challenging longstanding theory about how those interactions evolve. (New York Times via AgNet, 2/24/04).

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