ISSUE 10  July 3, 2003

ND Commissioner of Agriculture Roger Johnson is urging the EPA to take a proactive approach to helping producers deal with the growing problem of pesticide resistance. Under the current system, Section 18 exemptions are only allowed in situations where resistance has already occurred, and there are no alternative management tools available for the pest in question. Johnson is suggesting that Section 18 exemptions be allowed for resistance management that would in turn encourage development of integrated pest management (IPM) approaches. If rules are promulgated to allow resistance management as a criterion for Section 18 exemption, EPA should specify those situations when resistance management can be used to request an emergency exemption. The Agency should solicit input from experts with experience in pesticide resistance to better define those situations when a Section 18 exemption would be needed. A pesticide considered for a Section 18 exemption for resistance control should have a different biochemical site of action than registered alternatives, and that resistance by the targeted pest to registered pesticides has been demonstrated to occur with similar pests in other crops, or in some other model situation.

Several people have inquired where soil and plants samples can be sent to analyze for pesticide residues from drift or unintentional application. The following are some possibilities. Contact each company about specific compounds for testing.

The EPA has approved a specific exemption for Poast, enabling North Dakota safflower producers to use the herbicide to control wild oats in no-tillage or reduced tillage systems. The main safflower-producing areas of North Dakota experienced above-normal rainfall in eight of the last ten years, creating ideal conditions for wild oat growth and reproduction. The increased seedbank of wild oats has resulted in above-normal levels of infestation and significant yield losses. All herbicides currently registered for use in safflower to control wild oats require soil incorporation. No effective herbicides are now available that adequately control wild oats in no-till or reduced-till safflowers. Applicators must follow all instructions, precautions and warnings on the product and exemption labels and have a copy of the exemption label in their possession during application. All Section 18 exemption use directions can be obtained from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture website:

http://www.agdepartment.com  

or the NDSU Pesticide Programs web site at:

http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/pesticid/LabelPage.htm

The exemption expires July 31, 2003. Poast is manufactured by BASF which supported the exemption request. North Dakota is a leading producer of safflowers. The plant is used mostly as a source of cooking and salad oil.

Richard Zollinger
NDSU Extension Weed Specialist
rzolling@ndsuext.nodak.edu