US EPA OKs insecticide label expansion for use on strawberries

The US Environmental Protection Agency has approved a label expansion for Beleaf insecticide (flonicamid) from Philadelphia-based FMC Corp. for use on low-growing berries, including strawberries.

The insecticide was already registered for use on a wide range of fruit and vegetable crops.

Florida approval of the label change is pending.

In California, Beleaf was used this season on strawberries under a Section 18 emergency exemption, which expired Nov. 30, according to a California Department of Pesticide Regulation database.

The insecticide targets piercing and sucking pests, including aphids, greenhouse whitefly and Lygus plant bugs, according to the label.

Beleaf contains the active ingredient, flonicamid, which belongs to the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee's Group 9C.

The product controls insects by stopping them from feeding after they've ingested it.