Newest News from the Office of Pest Management Policy: July 30, 2003

From USDA's Office of Pest Management Policy, July 30, 2003

Highlights

Crop Profiles

Newly posted at http://www.ipmcenters.org
Arkansas - blackberry (update)
Arkansas - grape (update)
Arkansas - pecans
Arkansas - strawberry (update)
Hawaii - banana
Kentucky - melons
Kentucky - tobacco
New England - apple
Oklahoma - pasture
Oklahoma - watermelon (update)
Texas - sugarcane (update)
Virginia - peppers, bell
West Virginia - apple (update)
West Virginia - potato

Pest Management Strategic Plans (PMS Plans)

Newly posted at http://www.ipmcenters.org
California - fresh market tomato
Hawaii - banana
Mid-west - Legumes
US/Canada - Pulses

Upcoming PMS meetings:
Wheat - ND, MN, NE, SD (September 11-12)
Mushrooms - Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware (mid-September)
Peaches (update) - Southeast US (October)

Chemical News

(SMART meetings are pre-risk assessment meetings with EPA, Registrants and OPMP. The registrants present use and usage information, summarize or comment on any outstanding studies they may be submitting to EPA, and occasionally discuss their plans for maintaining or voluntarily canceling current uses. It is a meeting for the registrants to present information to EPA before the risk assessment really gets started.)

Carbaryl:
 There is one issue remaining that still remains: EPA wants to add a statement to one of the carbaryl products used on poplar trees in Minnesota: "Do not apply when flowers are blooming." EPA says this is necessary to protect bees. Current label language reads: "do not apply ...if bees are foraging in the treatment area"But apparently this wasn't enough for one beekeeper- who after his case was literally thrown out of court, called the CRM and complained about "chronic effects to his bees." Minnesota investigated this allegation by the beekeeper (Fed-exing the information to EPA) and did not conclude carbaryl to be the culprit. Since this is an NRDC chemical, and NRDC is now aware of the issue- EFED feels they have to address the issue, even though they recognize there were no carbaryl residues found in the beehives. Also, EFED acknowledges they do not know what constitutes a chronic toxic level for bees!!!! (Dhol Herzi, 202-720-2664)

DCNA (dicloran or Botran) - The SMART meeting for this chemical is not expected until the summer of 2003. DCNA (registered by Gowan) is a foliar fungicide for use on apricots, beans, celery, cherries, cucumbers, endive, fennel, garlic, grapes, lettuce, nectarines, onions, peaches, plums, potatoes, prunes, rhubarb, shallots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and certain forest and ornamental uses. (Kent Smith, 202-720-3184)

DCPA (Dacthal) - EPA has done a risk assessment on California onions and Florida cabbage for DCPA. OPMP received a call from EPA who indicated the risk came out "very high" for cancer. Ground water contamination has always been an issue with this chemical. I have contacted the regional center directors to see if they can get input from growers in their areas on use and usage as well as alternatives. OPMP has received input from Rick Melnicoe indicating the loss of DCPA would be a hardship for several minor crop growers in CA. (Harold Coble, 919-513-2124)

Molinate (Ordram)
 Syngenta plans to voluntarily cancel its molinate products, according to EPA. EPA received a letter proposing a 5-year phase-out of molinate on June 2, 2003, after two months of meetings with the rice industry and Syngenta. One complicating factor is that a minor registrant of molinate, who receives their technical material from Syngenta, has not yet agreed to the terms of the phase-out. If approved, this voluntary cancellation will end the RED for molinate. More on Molinate: The proposed phase-out identifies the sales in 2002 of 2.44 million lb ai as a limit to sales in succeeding years. However, 2003 is unaffected. From 2004 to 2006 the limit cannot be exceeded. In 2007, only 75% of the limit can be sold. In 2008, 50% of the limit will be allowed until June 30. Any remaining product in channels of trade up to 122,000 lb AI may be sold from 8/30/08 to 8/31/09. The tolerances for molinate on rice will be revoked on 12/31/11. (Kent Smith, 202-720-3186)

Propanil
 Voluntary cancellations were requested by the propanil registrants for small grain uses of propanil (wheat, oats, barley - less than 1% of use) and published in the Federal Register on 6/27/03. However, the major use on rice is unaffected by the cancellation. There are still some eco and worker exposure concerns. OPMP attended a meeting of the Propanil Task Force and EPA on 7/1/03. EPA plans to publish a RED soon, but there are a few issues to resolve. One is the label restriction on re-treatment after seven days, aquatic exposure, and an occupational study. The Propanil Task Force is moving to address these concerns with additional studies and a thorough explanation of current use practices. (Kent Smith, 202-720-3186)

Reldan
 After four years and many dollars it looks like EPA may give us all that we requested that they consider four years ago. HED decided that they could extend access to Reldan 4E use through 2005 because they discovered it is possible to bridge the data from Lorsban/Dursban. (Ted Rogers, 202-720-3846)

Sumithrin (d-phenothrin) - The SMART meeting occurred on July 29th. There are no agricultural uses or food uses for this chemical. Major uses do include consumer (homeowner) applications to control flying insects (wasps and hornets), ants and roaches, on pet for ticks and fleas, etc. Professional uses include PCOs applications, mosquito control programs, and by APHIS as a plane cargo-hold treatment in the Japanese Beetle Quarantine program. The technical registrant is Sumitomo and MGK and SC Johnson are the distributors in the US. The first draft of the Risk Assessment is expected out in April 2004 with the RED being completed in early 2005. (Wilfred Burr, 202-720-8647)

Thidiazuron (TDZ) SMART Meeting Minutes, June 12, 2003
 The thidiazuron team met with Bayer CropScience on Thursday, June 12, \2003, so that Bayer could present the use/usage information on \thidiazuron. Four representatives from Bayer were present: Danielle \Larochelle (Registration Product Manager), Richard Heintzelman (Product \Safety Manager), Donny Oleniczak (Harvest Aid Product Manager), and James \Collins (Sr. Product Development Manager). Harold Coble from USDA was also \present.

Thidiazuron has one registered use as a cotton defoliant, and is unique in that it is the only defoliant on the market that also acts as a re-growth regulator. Bayer is the technical registrant for thidiazuron, but elected not to obtain a separate registration for the technical material, Thidiazuron Technical. Bayer holds five Thidiazuron product registrations. Two other registrants hold thidiazuron registrations, and two more have pending applications for the technical grade. Thidiazuron has 22 tolerances on cottonseed, cottonseed hulls, milk, eggs, meat, and poultry.

Bayer supplied a list of studies it has conducted in order to upgrade the database for thidiazuron, but has not yet submitted to EPA, and requested that EPA provide a list of which of those studies we would like to have submitted. Bayer does not anticipate risk from use of thidiazuron. The company also requested a meeting with the Agency to go over the risk and benefits analyses once they have been completed, and before the RED has been drafted. The Use Closure Memo is available upon request. (Harold Coble, 919-513-2124)

Other Activities

At last week's CARAT Advisory Committee meeting, Larry Gut (Michigan) indicated there was some frustration in the research community concerning new registrations and experimental use permits (EUP). Basically, the concerns for a number of researchers is not knowing who to contact for information and for help in pushing the EPA registration or EUP processes for critical needs. Therese and I routinely interact with EPA's senior management and we can at least let them know what new products are needed in order to move forward on the development of alternative pest management strategies. We can find out the status of registration actions and, on occasion, might be able to push things ahead. II you prefer that the researchers go through the centers, you may want to advise them to call you and you can then direct the questions to either Therese or me. If you would rather they call us directly, please let them know that they may do so. (Al Jennings 202-720-5375; Therese Murtagh 202-720-6998)

CARAT TRANSITION WORK GROUP MEETING: JULY 17-18
 The Transition Workgroup, a subgroup of the CARAT, met with researchers, commodity organizations and others to discuss how EPA and USDA can help with transition in agriculture due to FQPA. The summary from this two-day workshop will be submitted to the full CARAT at the next meeting, tentatively scheduled for fall. (Wilfred Burr, 202-720-8647)

OPMP talked to someone who would like to get a finely milled volcanic ash registered for use in empty bins and perhaps as a treatment for organic stored grain. We will follow up on this. (Ted Rogers, 202-720-3846)

OPMP meet with Tom Van Arsdall with the NAPPC (North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, 423 Washington Street, San Francisco, CA 94111-2339 USA
Phone: 415-362-1137
Web site: www.nappc.org
They are interested in gaining support for a pollinator survey in North America. Tom indicated an interest in making a presentation at the next national Pest Management Centers meeting if possible.

Soybean Rust
 The registrants are trying to establish tolerances for their chemicals on soybeans in countries where soybeans are exported. Most have no tolerances in the Asian countries where most U.S. soybeans are exported. Crop Life America is working with the USDA Foreign Ag Service to develop a database for MRLS for minor crops. The American Soybean Association indicated it would like soybeans to also be included. FAS asked OPMP to convey to the registrants during the 7/15 meeting at Crop Life America that registrants have the primary responsibility for having foreign tolerances established for their chemicals. FAS said that Section 18 tolerances are normally not an issue for importing countries but can be. Japan, as a practice, will accept crops if there are US tolerances but there are indications that Japan will change. There are some chemicals registered on soybeans in Brazil but not registered in the US; some are more suitable for use in tropical climates. The EPA schedule is now for decisions on pending Section 3s by late '05. ARS estimated that U.S. grower costs for treating their crops against soybean rust in addition to their fertilizer inputs, etc. could be as high as $50 per acre. EPA was interested in thiabendazole for soybean rust. The registrant will review the data and make a business decision soon. BAS 500 (and BAS 510) efficacy data will be submitted soon for posting on the Pest Management Centers Web site.

The registrants conveyed to the soybean growers that there is only enough fungicide to treat 3 million acres (of potentially 75 million soybean acres) if there were an outbreak this week and that additional amounts for 3 million more acres will be available in a week or so. There is a high demand for fungicides this year. The registrants informed EPA that they need to know by August or September which Section 18 chemicals could be approved so they can begin production. The states will soon submit an expanded list of Section 18 chemicals in priority as requested by EPA. OPMP will meet again with EPA's Section 18 staff in a week to further discuss details of the draft application.

APHIS and OPMP will support the EPA preference for the states to request a quarantine exemption which is valid for three years following confirmation that EPA will not require the establishment of a quarantine program. EPA believes a quarantine Section 18 can be requested since SBR will be an invading pest. The National Plant Board foresees no problems with requesting a quarantine exemption from the states' viewpoint. The National Plant Board believes the nationwide preparations in place now are adequate for the surveillance of SBR.ARS has provided a summary of the comparative efficacy trials in Paraguay.

All tested compounds controlled soybean rust but their impact on preventing yield losses could not be determined due to low disease severity. APHIS will form a Rapid Response Team to investigate the first outbreak of SBR. Kent Smith has volunteered. (Teung Chin, 301-734-8943; Kent Smith, 202-720-3184).

EPA Pesticide Program Updates

If you do not already receive this newsletter you can subscribe to it for free. The web address is: http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/cb/csbpage/form/form.html. The following items have been published in recent Federal registers:

Miscellaneous Items

For those who visit the USDA cafeteria:
"At USDA, the Mouse Is in the House"
by Al Kamen
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Page A17

Employees at the Department of Agriculture's main cafeteria were just sitting down to lunch on Friday when security guards ordered everyone in the huge eatery to leave. Al Qaeda? Bomb scare? No. Mouse droppings. The D. C. Department of Health closed the cafeteria for failing to pass inspection. Yes, the USDA, home to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the meat and poultry inspectors — the agency that is part of the federal system for protecting the nation's food supply, was in violation of the D. C. Health Code.

There were several citations, according to the inspection report, including: "water leaking excessively" in the ceiling, employees not wearing hair restraints, and inadequate cleaning of the inside of ice machines, cabinets, surfaces and equipment.

The biggest problem, however, seemed to be mouse droppings found everywhere — in the dry storage room, by the salad bar, behind the ovens, near the serving line, behind the soda machines. There were dead mice in one trap. The rodents can cause some serious diseases.

"These conditions make people sick," said Theodore J. Gordon, senior deputy director for environmental health science and regulation for the D. C. health department. "It's inexcusable for these conditions to be allowed," he said. "This is just basic sanitation. This is elbow grease — it doesn't cost money. People are entitled to safe food."

The cafeteria, which feeds many hundreds of employees each day for breakfast and lunch and afternoon noshes, is more important for employees at USDA than cafeterias at other agencies because there are few commercial alternatives nearby.

Officials moved over the weekend to make repairs, reinforcing barriers to any possible entrance for the critters and adding traps — none has been caught — and fixing the ceiling.

"We did take it extremely seriously," USDA spokeswoman Alisa Harrison said yesterday.

While this sort of thing hasn't happened in recent years, Harrison noted that the building is at 14th and Independence, not far from large grassy Mall areas."It's an issue that buildings in D. C. have to continually address," she said.

The inspectors returned Monday, pronounced everything much improved, and allowed the cafeteria to reopen.

Bon appetit!

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