Copper Use in Hawaii -- Additional Information Request about Mango and Papaya
Dear Cathy and Mike,
I am contacting you because I am preparing an assessment of your responses to
the Copper RED on behalf of the mango and papaya growers.
It appears that your concerns relative to these two crops were:
1] Papaya -- a 48 hour REI would increase risk of disease losses and complicate
scheduling of worker activities; and
2] Mangoes -- in recent years growers have been experiencing abnormal events
of multiple flowering periods in a single season, which necessitate more applications
per year.
Assuming that our perceptions of your comments are correct, we have the following
questions:
1] Which disease is likely to cause the claimed losses on papaya,
if timely applications of copper cannot be maintained because of a
48-hour REI?
2] Are the abnormal multiple flowerings on mangoes expected to continue
in future years?
3] What evidence exists to demonstrate/suggest that 3.2 pounds metallic
copper/A application rate are needed rather than the 2.6 pounds metallic
copper/A proposed in the RED?
4] What are the target pests for copper on these two crops? Are there
any suitable alternatives for controlling these pests?
Thanks,
Richard Michell, Ph.D.
Plant Pathologist-Nematologist
USEPA, OPP, BEAD (7503P)
(703) 308-8119
(703) 308-7042 FAX
