US EPA approves emergency use of clothianidin for Florida Citrus

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a time-limited tolerance for residues of clothianidin in citrus of Florida. The time-limited tolerance is effective on February 25, 2015, and expires on December 31, 2017. Objections and requests for hearings must be received on or before April 27, 2015. 

 

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services requested the EPA Administrator to issue a specific exemption for the use of clothianidin as a soil drench application on immature citrus trees to control the transmission of Huanglongbing (HLB) disease vectored by the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP). The applicant asserts that clothianidin is needed to control HLB disease due to the lack of effective available alternatives for season long control practices, and that significant economic losses will occur if this urgent, non-routine disease is not controlled. Further, the applicant asserts that an emergency condition exists in accordance with the criteria for approval of an emergency exemption, and issued a crisis exemption under FIFRA section 18 to allow the use of clothianidin on immature citrus trees. After having reviewed the submission, EPA concurred that an emergency condition exists for Florida citrus growers and authorized a specific emergency exemption under FIFRA section 18.

 

The agency also noted that because this time-limited tolerance is being approved under emergency conditions, it has not made any decisions about whether clothianidin meets FIFRA's registration requirements for use on citrus, or whether a permanent tolerance for this use would be appropriate.