Pesticide registration and label expansion for minor crops

The IR-4 Project is a federally-funded program dedicated to providing pest management solutions to growers of "minor use" crops, including fruits, vegetables and ornamentals.

The USDA and state land grant universities organized IR-4 in 1963 to address the shortage of registered pesticides for crops that are considered minor use, or grown on fewer than 300,000 acres.

Researchers conduct efficacy, phytoxicity and residue tests on greenhouse, field, and nursery crops with conventional synthetic active ingredients as well as biological, or biorational, control agents.

IR-4 is part of a national effort to ensure environmentally safe compounds are used wisely in agriculture.

For more information see:

The IR-4 Project and ARS Minor Use Pesticide Program: Meeting the Needs of Today's Growers	Publication
The USDA IR-4 Research Program	Poster
Contact: Mike Reding or Leona Horst