US EPA opens comment period on pethoxamid proposed decision

EPA has opened a 30-day comment period on the Agency’s proposed decision to register the new pesticide active ingredient pethoxamid, a broad-spectrum herbicide that inhibits seedling shoot growth.

Pethoxamid provides a new active ingredient for the control of economically important grasses and some broadleaf weeds. Pethoxamid can provide a shorter plant-back interval than available alternatives, leading to enhanced crop rotation or cover-crop flexibility. If used in conjunction with or in rotation with other mechanisms of action, pethoxamid could be an element of resistance management programs.

The Agency is proposing to register one technical product and two end-use products to control various types of annual grasses and broadleaf weeds in soybean, cotton, corn, non-crop areas, and residential and commercial turf and ornamental sites. The Agency has evaluated the toxicity for pethoxamid and has not identified any human health or ecological risks that require additional mitigation beyond what is already included on the mandatory product label provided with pethoxamid.

The public comment period for this proposed decision will be open for 30 days, closing on June 17, 2020. To read more about the proposed registration of pethoxamid, visit www.regulations.gov, docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0510.