Chlorpyrifos Designated A California Restricted Material

Jun 08, 2015

By Peter B Goodell

Cowpea aphids

Chlorpyrifos (Lorsban and other products containing this active ingredient) plays an important role in the management of critical key pests in alfalfa forage. In particular, blue aphids, cowpea aphids and weevils were identified by the Alfalfa Crop Team of the Critical Use of Chlorpyrifos in Alfalfa, Almond, Citrus and Cotton Project. The full report can be found by clicking here and notes that the critical alfalfa pests (weevils, blue and cowpea aphids) have few or no alternative management options to chlorpyrifos. Since the report was published in November 2014, several new insecticide registrations (including issuance of a special local needs (SLN) use) have become available. While there are alternative practices and insecticides for most pests in alfalfa, chlorpyrifos will remain an important tool in the IPM toolbox.

New regulations on the use of chlorpyrifos have been issued by California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Highlights are provided below and details are available by clicking here:

"Effective July 1, 2015, the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) will designate chlorpyrifos a California restricted material when it is an ingredient in a pesticide product labeled for use in the production of an agricultural commodity. Applicators that wish to purchase, possess, or apply affected chlorpyrifos products must obtain a restricted materials permit from their local County Agricultural Commissioner (CAC). Pesticide dealers can't sell California restricted materials unless the buyer has a CAC-issued permit. Applications made for hire require a written recommendation from a licensed pest control adviser or the equivalent from a certified private applicator. There are currently 31 agricultural use chlorpyrifos products registered in California."

"Currently, DPR is developing recommended interim permit conditions based on human health and environmental risks. These permit conditions will likely include buffer zones near sensitive sites, good management practices to reduce drift or offsite movement into the air, and measures to reduce runoff into surface waters. DPR plans to issue a letter to CACs within the next month with recommended permit conditions."

"Chlorpyrifos products were designated restricted materials due to potential human health and surface water concerns. U.S. EPA recently released a draft revision of its human health risk assessment of chlorpyrifos, and federal review is continuing. DPR is conducting its own extensive risk evaluation that considers California's unique and diverse growing conditions. Measures aimed at protecting human health and the environment may be amended after the risk assessment and risk evaluation are complete. Permit conditions may change accordingly."

Source:ucanr.edu

Video: US Soy: Pig growth is impaired by soybean meal displacement in the diet

Eric van Heugten, PhD, professor and swine extension specialist at North Carolina State University, recently spoke at the Iowa Swine Day Pre-Conference Symposium, titled Soybean Meal 360°: Expanding our horizons through discoveries and field-proven feeding strategies for improving pork production. The event was sponsored by Iowa State University and U.S. Soy.

Soybean meal offers pig producers a high-value proposition. It’s a high-quality protein source, providing essential and non-essential amino acids to the pig that are highly digestible and palatable. Studies now show that soybean meal provides higher net energy than current National Research Council (NRC) requirements. Plus, soybean meal offers health benefits such as isoflavones and antioxidants as well as benefits with respiratory diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).

One of several ingredients that compete with the inclusion of soybean meal in pig diets is dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS).

“With DDGS, we typically see more variable responses because of the quality differences depending on which plant it comes from,” said Dr. van Heugten. “At very high levels, we often see a reduction in performance especially with feed intake which can have negative consequences on pig performance, especially in the summer months when feed intake is already low and gaining weight is at a premium to get them to market.”

Over the last few decades, the industry has also seen the increased inclusion of crystalline amino acids in pig diets.

“We started with lysine at about 3 lbs. per ton in the diet, and then we added methionine and threonine to go to 6 to 8 lbs. per ton,” he said. “Now we have tryptophan, isoleucine and valine and can go to 12 to 15 lbs. per ton. All of these, when price competitive, are formulated into the diet and are displacing soybean meal which also removes the potential health benefits that soybean meal provides.”