Location: Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research
2022 Annual Report
Objectives
Determine the amount, persistence, and fate of pest insect control chemicals and
their toxic breakdown products in minor agricultural crops in the United States.
Provide data in support of registration/re-registration petitions to EPA through IR-4 Minor Use Program. (NP 304, C3, subcomponent 3A, PS 3A2)
Approach
Minor agricutural crops treated with insect control chemicals such as pyrethroids,organophosphates and carbamates will be chemically analyzed to determine the amount,persistence and distribution of these chemicals and their breakdown products. The data collected will be forwarded through designated channels and used to establish tolerances and obtain registration for the use of these chemicals on minor crops. Also, new efficient procedures for the extraction, cleanup, and determination of residues of these pesticides in crops will be developed to more rapidly expedite these registration processes.
Progress Report
The Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) is the primary entity in the United States to facilitate registrations of conventional pesticides and biopesticides on specialty food crops. The laboratory component of this program provided supporting data to give growers access to new pesticide uses on minor crops. These new uses established safer alternatives to older chemicals which faced stiffer regulation and offered the potential for more environmental and health impact. The residue research completed also helped establish new controls for new threats to minor use crops.
In support of the IR-4 mission, residue data were collected for seven registration projects with 332 samples from 61 crop field sites. Most pesticide residues on food crops were below the levels established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicating that these products are safe to use on minor crops. Information from these field trials will be used to support petitions submitted by the IR-4 Project to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the registration or re-registration of pesticides for use on minor crops.
Accomplishments
