California announces decision to register Ayrsta’s MIDAS

Arysta LifeScience today announced the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) will register MIDAS® for commercial use once regulations take effect to designate the fumigant as a restricted material. CDPR’s decision follows an extensive scientific review and is welcomed by growers seeking an effective alternative to methyl bromide. California will be the 48th state to register MIDAS.

"Fumigants are an important resource to growers around the world, and Arysta LifeScience is proud to now offer a viable methyl bromide replacement to California growers.”

.MIDAS is a broad spectrum soil fumigant that effectively controls soil-borne diseases, nematodes and weed seeds that threaten high-value crops such as ornamentals, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers tree fruit, nuts, vines and turf.

"The California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s decision to register MIDAS is an affirmation of the scientific data and analysis of career scientists at the U.S. EPA, 47 other U.S. states, and other countries,” said Jeff Tweedy, Head of Business Development and Regulatory for Arysta LifeScience. “Fumigants are an important resource to growers around the world, and Arysta LifeScience is proud to now offer a viable methyl bromide replacement to California growers.”

Developed by researchers at the University of California-Riverside as a drop-in replacement for methyl bromide, MIDAS was first approved by the U.S. EPA in 2007 following a rigorous review. Today, MIDAS has been applied to more than 16,000 acres in the United States with no safety incidents reported.

Iodomethane (methyl iodide), the active ingredient in MIDAS, is one of the most comprehensively researched compounds in the history of modern agriculture. More than 100 renowned national and international scientists worked to develop the state-of-the-art toxicology and environmental studies that support the MIDAS data package.

MIDAS is injected into soil prior to planting by certified applicators who have completed a superior stewardship and training program developed and initiated by Arysta LifeScience. MIDAS will be legal to use in California after emergency regulations take effect in late December and will require a permit for use from county agricultural commissioners.

"When used according to its label provisions, MIDAS does not pose a threat to humans and the environment,” said Royce Schulte, Product Manager of U.S. Fumigants for Arysta LifeScience. “Arysta LifeScience has completed safety and stewardship training for MIDAS to Certified Applicators in the Southeast for more than three years, and we look forward to extending the same standards for safety and stewardship to California.”

MIDAS delivers results comparable to methyl bromide at up to 40 percent fewer pounds per acre. In addition to this unique chemistry, MIDAS does not contribute to depletion of the ozone layer.

In 2009, Arysta LifeScience and several notable researchers from American universities and the Agricultural Research Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture were awarded an Ozone Layer Protection Award by the U.S. EPA in recognition of the non-ozone depleting characteristics of MIDAS.

Internationally, iodomethane is registered in the U.S., Japan, Turkey, New Zealand, Morocco, and Mexico with additional registrations pending in Australia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Chile, Egypt, Israel, South Africa and other countries.

MIDAS is expected to be available in California in the first quarter of 2011.