MN Fruit & Vegetable IPM News - Vol. 3, No. 1

As growers enter the planting and harvesting time of the year, there are several things they should think about as it relates to both their own use of pesticides and the use of pesticides by others adjacent to their crops. As a point of clarification, pesticides include, but are not limited to fungicides, insecticides and herbicides.

Regarding growers own use of pesticides:

Only use pesticide products labeled for the specific site/crop. Using pesticide products with the same active ingredient, but that are not labeled for a specific site/crop is illegal. Don't listen to pesticide sales people who tell you it's OK to use illegal products because a cheaper product has the same active ingredient. Don't ask your own applicator or a commercial applicator to apply a product that is not labeled for what you need. To be sure, always review labels with your employees/commercial applicators first.
Abide by all label restrictions, especially the label “DO NOT's”.
Abide by all labeled “Pre harvest Intervals”.
For sites with workers and handlers as defined in the Federal Worker Protection Standard, provide the required training, keep /post application records, provide personal protective equipment and abide by the “Restricted Entry Intervals” and necessary application notification and posting if required.

Regarding growers who encounter drift or direct application onto their crops:

Report alleged drift/direct application as soon as possible to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) at 651-201-6696. All complaints are required to be put into writing. The MDA has no authority to seek financial damages or compensation. To review the fact sheet and obtain the complaint form go to: www.mda.state.mn.us/appd/pesticides/complaints.htm
Take photo's/video's of the alleged drift/misuse in progress if you can. Don't take photos/video if it means that you might be exposed to the pesticide yourself.
Map or further define the area where you think the drift or misuse occurred. This will help the MDA to determine how much of the crop is affected.
DO NOT harvest/plow down the alleged affected crop until the MDA authorizes you to do so. Valuable evidence is lost if you do.

Regarding the MDA's investigative process:

As soon as the MDA receives a complaint, it will commence an investigation if sufficient evidence exists or there is a reason to believe that a pesticide misuse has occurred. Minnesota Department of Agriculture field staff will generally be out to inspect the same day or within a few days at the latest to start the investigation.

In the event that the MDA has reason to believe a pesticide misuse occurred, the MDA will issue an Embargo or other ORDER prohibiting harvest, movement of already harvested crops and destruction of evidence until the MDA has what it needs for its investigation. In the event that the MDA has sufficient evidence that a misuse occurred (and no crop tolerance exists or it's in excess of crop tolerances), the MDA may ORDER destruction of the affected crop.

Once an investigation begins, the MDA will continue it until it is resolved. This is done to insure that the food supply is protected from illegal pesticide residues. Investigations generally require 45 -90 days to conclude and then another 45-90 days before the MDA takes an enforcement action (warning or financial penalty) against the grower who misused a pesticide or the person who drifted/directly applied a pesticide onto the grower's crop. The length of time involved between a complaint and an enforcement action is entirely dependent upon the complexity of the investigation, the pesticide involved and the cooperation the MDA receives.

Any questions on products, misuse or drift, please give us a call at 651-201-6121.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Co-Editors: Bill Hutchison (hutch002@umn.edu), Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, Jeanne Ciborowski, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Ag. Resources Management and Development Division, and Suzanne Wold-Burkness (woldx018@umn.edu), Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota

The Newsletter is published weekly from May through August, cooperatively, by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the University of Minnesota (U of MN). Reports are posted on the U of MN and MDA web sites on Fridays. If you have suggestions and/or comments, please send your contributions by 4 p.m., Wednesday to Jean Ciborowski, 651-201-6217, jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us, MDA, 625 Robert St. North, St. Paul, MN 55155-2538. You can access the Newsletter at the U of MN web site in htm format at: www.vegedge.umn.edu/MNFruit&VegNews/mnindex.htm and at the MDA web site in pdf format at: http://www.mda.state.mn.us/ipm/ipmnews/

Partial funding for this publication is provided through partnership agreements with the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (MFVGA) and the United States Department of Agriculture – Risk Management Agency (RMA). These institutions are equal opportunity providers.

DISCLAIMER

Reference to products in this publication is not intended to be an endorsement to the exclusion of others which may have similar uses. Any person using products listed in this publication assumes full responsibility for their use in accordance with current manufacturer directions.

The University, including the Minnesota Extension Service, is an equal opportunity educator and employer. ©1999-2006 Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Contact copyright@extension.umn.edu for information on reproduction or use of this material.