US set temporary tolerances for fluridone and dinotefuran

US EPA has established time-limited tolerances for herbicide fluridone and insecticide dinotefuran after reviewing the emergency exemption requests from the related states.

Aransas requested the exemption of fluridone for control of glyphosate-resistant palmer amaranth in Arkansas. Glyphosate-resistant palmer amaranth was confirmed in Arkansas in 2006. Since 2006, it has become the most severe weed problem that Arkansas cotton producers face. Greater than 95% of Arkansas cotton and 80% of soybean contain the glyphosate tolerant gene and thus glyphosate is the base herbicide for weed control. A significant economic loss is expected to occur on nearly 25% of acres grown or about 160,000 acres.

The exemption requests for the use of dinotefuran in or on pome fruits and stone fruits for control of the abrupt increase and spread of damaging populations of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia were also reviewed by EPA.

These States claimed that the abrupt increase and spread of damaging populations of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) resulted in an urgent and non-routine pest control situation. The States asserted that without the use of dinotefuran as an additional pest management tool for pome and stone fruit orchards, uncontrolled infestations of BMSB are likely to result in economic losses in excess of 20%.

The EPA has established the time-limited tolerances for residues of fluridone, its metabolites and degradates, in or on cotton, undelinted seed at 0.1 parts per million (ppm), which will expire on December 31, 2014. And the tolerances for residues of dinotefuran, including its metabolites and degradates, are set to be in or on fruit, pome, group 11 and fruit, stone, group 12 at 1.0 ppm, which will expire on December 31, 2015.

The Codex has not established an MRL for fluridone and dinotefuran. Canadian or Mexican MRLs has established for dinotefuran.

(The Codex Alimentarius is a joint United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization food standards program, and it is recognized as an international food safety standards-setting organization in trade agreements to which the United States is a party).