Harmonizing pesticide clearances for minor crops

摘要

Horticultural and other speciality crops present unique challenges in pest management. These crops are inherently unattractive to registrants in seeking pesticide labels, due to small market potential, geographic diversity, and the economic risks. While major grain and other agronomic crops are relatively few in number, these crops are financially and biologically attractive for commercial pesticide development. This paper summarises the key factors in the successful harmonization of pesticides in the U.S. and North America via the IR-4 project. Several public and private sector partnerships have contributed to the productivity of the IR-4 Project, from which more than 8,300 tolerances have been granted. These tolerances account for 42 percent of all Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) issued by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency since 1963 for use in U.S. agriculture. One key has been the use of Crop Groups and Representative Crops within a group to generate harmonized residue data from which MRLs can be extended to several other crops. As an example of the crop grouping scheme, herbicide trials were conducted with two representative crops (carrot and radish) in six regions that represented 98% of the U.S. production. From this work, MRLs were established so that clethodim could be labelled in these crops and 12 others with similar edible parts and biological traits in the Root Crops Group. More recently, harmonization work with Canada and Mexico has been highly productive, with shared protocols and lead roles designated in petition reviews.