PEP-Talk, May, 2003

Pesticide Education Program
Ohio State University Extension
Joanne Kick-Raack, State Coordinator
Cindy Folck, Communications
Vol. 7, Issue 5

In This Issue

Mosquito Vector Control Workshops

Do you know any pesticide applicators who will be doing mosquito spraying this year? Encourage them to attend the Vector Control Workshops, coordinated by Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Department of Health. These workshops will be held around the state in June and the dates and locations are listed below.

Applicators will be able to bring in their mosquito ULV spraying equipment for droplet testing. The sprayers must be in working condition and calibrated prior to the workshop. Droplets can be taken only using pesticide as the spray, so have some pesticide in the tank.

At selected locations, an educational program and license exam testing will be available. The program includes a morning of new applicator training for the mosquito category on a pesticide applicator license. Applicators will be able to take their licensing exam the same morning. The afternoon educational session will feature an update on West Nile Virus and mosquito control. Pesticide recertification credits for the mosquito category will be available in the afternoon session.

The dates and locations of the workshops are:

June 10 - Toledo Area Sanitary District, 5015 Stickney Ave., Toledo, ULV droplet testing only - NO education session or ODA license exam testing will be available


June 11 - Lake County Health Department, 550 Black Brook Rd., Painesville Township, Educational session, ODA license exam and ULV droplet testing ALL available.


June 24 - Whitehall Community Park, 402 Hamilton Rd., Whitehall (Columbus area) Educational session, ODA license exam and ULV droplet testing ALL available.


June 25 - Whitehall Community Park, 402 Hamilton Rd., Whitehall (Columbus area) ULV droplet testing only - NO education session or ODA license exam testing will be available


June 26 - Cincinnati area, place to be announced Educational session, ODA license exam and ULV droplet testing ALL available.

Registration is $10/person for the educational session or $10/machine for ULV droplet testing. Registration forms and more information is available on the Pesticide Education Program website at http://pested.osu.edu or by calling (614) 292-4070.

EPA Withdraws 2000 TMDL Rule

In March, EPA withdrew the July 2000 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) rule. The 2000 rule was determined to be unworkable by EPA based on more than 34,000 comments and several pending lawsuits. Congress had suspended the rule's implementation and the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences had found numerous drawbacks with the July 2000 rule.

The July 2000 TMDL rule would have required the states to prepare more comprehensive lists of waters impaired by runoff. It also would have required EPA's Water Office to approve all components of state TMDL implementation, including lists of mitigation measures and schedules to reduce pollutant loading. (Sources: U.S. EPA April Watershed News; Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 31, No. 23)

Activist Groups Focus on State and Local Issues

Several of the nation's largest activist groups are planning to shift money and resources to state and local initiatives, moving some focus from federal regulatory and legislative activities. The groups, among them the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists and Greenpeace, hope to build on recent state-level legislative successes and expand into other areas, such as greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy and forest conservation. (Source: Chemically Speaking, University of Florida Extension, March, 2003)

Monsanto Faces Challenges

Monsanto is under investigation from the Justice Department for possible antitrust activity. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission report filed by Monsanto in March, the company is defending lawsuits which allege Monsanto conspired with competitors to fix the price of glyphosate-based herbicides and paraquat-based herbicides. Monsanto lost the U.S. patent for glyphosate in 2000. In an unrelated story, a legal petition was filed with the USDA by farmers from Northern Plain states and non-profit organizations representing growers requesting that the department deny a request for Monsanto to deregulate its herbicide-resistant wheat and allow the product to be transported across state lines without a permit. The USDA is already considering strict requirements on Monsanto to ensure the company is not selling biotech wheat until foreign markets are ready for it. (Sources: Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 31, No. 21 & 22)

Bt Research on Nematodes

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been used to control insect pests, but the effects of the crystal proteins from the Gram-positive soil bacterium are currently being studied on many soil dwelling species of the invertebrate phylum Nematoda. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, are demonstrating that Bt crystal proteins are also toxic to nematodes. (Source: Chemically Speaking, University of Florida Extension, March 2003)

Journal of Pesticide Safety Education

Articles from the Journal of Pesticide Safety Education are available on the web. The address is http://jpse.org There is also a link on the Pesticide Education Program website Articles in the latest edition of JPSE (Volume 4 - 2002) include:

Comparison of Live Skit and Video Delivery Styles Using Presentations With and Without Fluorescent Tracer Dyes at Pesticide Appolicator Training for Promotion of Self-Protection from Dermal Exposure. Foss, C.R, Allen, E.H., Fenske, R.A. and Ramsay, C.A.

Pesticide Safety Education Centers: A Feasibility Study. Brennan, B.M.

The Southern Region Pesticide Safety Education Center: A Regional Approach to Training-the-Trainer. Buhler, W., McRackan, R., Weaver, M., Brennan, B. and Bellinger, R.G.

Free Pesticide Safety Materials

A kit for increasing community awareness of poison prevention is available through the National Safety Council. Developed with a grant from EPA, the kit is entitled: "Read the Label First! Community Action Kit" and includes fact sheets, sample press releases, activities for children and a variety of other materials. The kit is available by contacting Donald Gooding at the National Safety Council at (202) 974-2496 or by sending an e-mail to gooding@nsc.org. Supplies are limited. (Source: EPA Pesticide Program Update, April 3, 2003)

Disease Alert

Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 was introduced into the U.S. on geranium cuttings from a commercial propagation facility in Kenya. This pathogen causes southern bacterial wilt of solanaceous crops such as potato, tomato, pepper, tobacco and eggplant. Images of tomatoes and potatoes with symptoms of southern wilt are available at the USDA-APHIS website. More information is also available at http://vegnet.osu.edu (Source: Dr. Sally Miller, OSU Extension/OARDC, Department of Plant Pathology)

Ohio Section 18's and 24 (c) Labels for 2003

Section 18's are emergency exemptions and 24(c)'s are state registrations of pesticides to meet a special local need. Growers must have a copy of the supplementary label information in their possession. The labels and information are available on the Pesticide Education Program website. New 24(c) labels and Section 18's for 2003 are:

CheckMite (phosphorothioate) - Bayer has obtained a Section 18 in Ohio for control of varroa mites and small hive beetles in honeybee colonies. (Insecticide)

Spartan 4F (sulfentrazone) - FMC Corp. has obtained a Section 18 in Ohio for use on strawberries to control common groundsel. (Herbicide)

Mustang Max - FMC has obtained a Section 24(c) label in Ohio (OH 03002) for a special local need in sugar beets to control wireworm, white grub and cutworm species in sugar beet seedlings and to control cutworm species, flea beetle and grasshoppers in sugar beets at foliar stage. (Insecticide)

PropiMax - Dow AgroSciences has obtained a Section 24(c) label in Ohio (OH 03001) for a special local need for the control of leaf and glume blotch diseases and suppression of fusarium head blight in wheat. (Fungicide)

Pesticide Crop Watch

Insecticides

Avaunt (indoxacarb) - DuPont has added to their label the control of European corn borer in potatoes

Baits Motel - Stay Awhile, Rest Forever (Beauveria bassiana - an entomopathogenic fungus) - GlycoGenesys has been granted a conditional registration for this pesticide product for roaches and fire ants.

Cruiser (thiamethoxam) - Syngenta has added to their label the usage as a seed treatment in corn.

Pre-Strike (s-methoprene) - Valent BioSciences has a new formulation to control mosquitoes in residential areas. It is used in bird baths, gutters, water gardens, old tires and other areas where water accumulates to prevent mosquito infestation.

Steward (indoxacarb) - DuPont has added to their label the usage on alfalfa and soybeans

Herbicides

Sinbar (terbacil) - DuPont has obtained a supplemental label to be used in weed control for annual strawberry production systems under plastic mulch. The label only allows alfalfa, apple, blueberry, mint, peach or strawberry to be planted within the 12 months after the application.

Telar (chlorsulfuron) - DuPont is adding to their label the use on pasture, range and conservation reserve programs.

MISC.

Auxigro (gaba) - Emerald Bio Agriculture has added to their label the usage on tomatoes and melons to increase yield and brix.

(Sources for Pesticide Crop Watch: Chemically Speaking, University of Florida Extension, March 2003; Agricultural Chemical News, Vol. 283)

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio State University Extension.

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