Location: Southeast Watershed Research
2024 Annual Report
Objectives
Determine magnitude of the residues of pesticides in minor crops and conduct other residue studies as appropriate in support of registration petitions submitted to EPA by IR-4. Work primarily with reduced-risk compounds to replace uses that continue to be lost due to the tolerance reassessment mandated by the Food Quality Protection bAct (FQPA) of 1996.
Approach
All work will be in compliance with 40 CFR Part 160, "Good Laboratory Practice
Standards." Analytical methodology, Standard Operating Procedures, and GLP
documentation will be updated for the project as needed. Priorities and assignments
of crop/pesticide combinations for analysis are determined at an annual meeting.
Crop samples will be obtained from IR-4 Field Projects and analyzed by methods
approved by EPA. Laboratory residue data and all required documentation will be
reported to IR-4 Headquarters.
Progress Report
The primary entity in the United States to facilitate registrations of conventional pesticides and biopesticides on specialty food crops is the IR-4 Project (previously named Interregional Research Project #4). To provide solutions to a national need in these crops, pesticide residue research was conducted on pesticide/crop combinations (projects) to address specific insect, weed, and plant disease problems. Field trials were conducted throughout the United States by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) cooperators. The developed data are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to register pesticides on specialty crops. Samples were shipped to the Tifton IR-4 Project Laboratory located at the Southeast Watershed Research Unit, Tifton, Georgia. During FY2024, the laboratory conducted residue analyses for 8 projects covering 55 field trials. Several projects have multiple analytes of interest requiring separate analyses for the various analytes.
For the fungicide azoxystrobin, analysis on parent azoxystrobin and its metabolite R230310 were completed on one project totaling 5 field trials on greenhouse tomato with a second project in progress totaling 4 field trials on fresh and dried mint. Analyses on the fungicide difenoconazole was completed for 3 projects totaling 20 field trials on greenhouse tomato, spinach, and mint (fresh, dried, hay, oil). Triazole metabolite analysis remains for the tomato and 1 of the mint projects. Analyses were completed on 3 projects totaling 23 field trials for the fungicide ethaboxam on avocado, cherry and almond (nutmeat and hulls). For the fungicide cymoxanil, analysis on strawberry is in progress with 8 field trials in the project. Residue work was initiated on another 7 projects covering 51 trials which were assigned to the laboratory. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will establish pesticide tolerances based on this data so the growers of these crops will have the pest control tools they requested.
Accomplishments