Location: Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory
2017 Annual Report
Objectives
To provide national leadership in coordination of the minor use pesticide program in ARS; to ensure compliance with all Federal GLP directives; and to review, evaluate, and coordinate the development of data on efficacy, phytotoxicity, and residue data and ensure that these data are acceptable toward obtaining registrations for minor crops.
Approach
Interact with state and federal scientists and attend IR-4 and related meetings to determine minor use pesticide needs. Work with ARS scientists to develop tentative annual programs, identify scientists to conduct studies, and to assign projects to ARS scientists. Review progress in completion of projects and in meeting objectives. Provide the IR-4 program with data developed by ARS scientists to be used for the establishment of tolerances by EPA and for the use of pesticide registrants to add new uses to their labels. Recommend specific actions to Administrator's Office, to Area Directors, and to ONP to strengthen program activities.
Progress Report
This report documents the coordination of research to develop the data that is required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to register pesticides on food crops and ornamentals. ARS and State cooperators attended the IR-4 Project (formerly named Interregional Project #4, a national minor use pesticide program headquartered at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey) sponsored workshops with growers, research, and extension personnel that set priorities for the 2017 food and ornamental programs. A planning meeting at IR-4 Headquarters at Rutgers University Princeton was attended by ARS/IR-4 chemists, the ARS/IR-4 Coordinator, and State counterparts who attended the meeting to develop the 2017 field and residue laboratory program. The five ARS field cooperators were provided with a list of food-field projects to be conducted at their location. Research protocols, field data books, and residue sample shipping bags were provided to the cooperators and the field projects were initiated. The five ARS and one state ornamental cooperator were provided with a list of ornamental projects and protocols to be conducted at their location. The two residue laboratories accepted crop samples as they were completed in the field and continued to analyze the 2017 and earlier sample sets that were received during the year. The 2016 reports from the field and laboratories were reviewed and forwarded to IR-4 Headquarters where petitions were developed and sent to EPA to establish tolerances for the food uses. The ornamental data developed by ARS was submitted to IR-4 Headquarters where it was packaged and submitted to the potential registrants for amending their labels with the new ornamental uses.
Accomplishments
1. Chemical pesticides for growers of nursery and floral crops. The Ornamental Horticulture Minor Use Pesticide Program supports an industry valued at over $11.7 billion in annual sales; the crops are grown under various conditions such as nurseries, greenhouses, and tree farms. These plants have a very high value per acre, but the small acreage compared with row crops can be a major deterrent to pesticide registrants to label their products for these uses. An ARS scientist coordinated the development of data by ARS researchers at Charleston, South Carolina; Corvallis, Oregon; Tifton, Georgia; Wapato, Washington; and Wooster, Ohio and ARS State cooperators at Rutgers University. These researchers established 125 pesticide/crop combinations in the field to treat ornamental plants with pesticides to evaluate them for crop safety in 2017. In 2016, ARS contributed data toward the registration of 548 crop uses with 2 pesticides that are now available to growers of florist and nursery crops to reduce losses from pests.
