permaculture

[Victor Guest <vic@daena.eepo.com.au>]

Sender: ag-impact@freedom.mtn.org
Precedence: bulk
From: jvickery@iatp.org (John Vickery)

Fellow ag-impacters:

Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) environmental impact ratings for=
 pesticides

This is a follow up message regarding the PROCESS used to assign each
pesticide labeled for use in pome fruit production to one of three
categories:  green/permitted, yellow/permitted with restrictions, or
red/not permitted.  I have not yet been able to obtain enough information
to provide a basis for a satisfactory examination of the PROCESS followed
in making the category determinations.  Even with respect to CRITERIA, I do
not feel I can provide enough information for more than a cursory
discussion.  In an earlier post, I gave the general criteria used.  They
are repeated below.  Also given below this time are the lists of "not
permitted" (red) and "permitted" (yellow) chemicals according to the
International Organization for Biological Control.  Recall that these are
part of a general Guidelines document that regional and country IFP
certifying organizations are not obligated to follow.  Thus, what we have
is a situation of many autonomous certifying organizations with different,
although similar criteria, and probably more varied pesticide rating
assignment processes.  There is apparently significant variation in the
strictness with which the criteria are applied.  Some organizations have a
much shorter list of materials in their "green list" than others.

The general criteria used to make category determinations are: =20

toxicity to man            toxicity to key natural enemies
selectivity                toxicity to other natural organisms
persistence                pollution of ground and surface water
necessity of use           ability to stimulate pests
incomplete information


Below are the determinations made by the Joint Group for Integrated Fruit
Production Guidelines and Standards.  Both the above-cited criteria and the
listing that follows below, are found on page 5 (English version) of Cross,
J.V., and E. Dickler, eds.  1994.  Guidelines for Integrated Production of
pome fruits in Europe:  IOBC Technical Guideline III.  IOBC/WPRS Bulletin
17(9):1=968.  International Organization for Biological and Integrated
Control of Noxious Animals and Plants, Montfavet, France.=20
ISBN92-9067-067-3 [English, French, German, Italian, Spanish]=20

General pesticides rating listing

Not permitted

pyrethroid insecticides and acaricides
non-naturally occurring plant growth regulators
organochlorine insecticides and acaricides
toxic, water polluting or very persistent herbicides

Permitted with Restrictions

benzimidazole fungicides (storage rot and blossom wilt and as a paint=20
     for canker control, only)
dithiocarbamate fungicides (maximum of 3 applications per season and not=20
     in succession) so that predatory mites are not affected =20
sulfur (use must be limited so that predatory Phytoseeid mites are not
       =20
     affected)
residual herbicides, except toxic, water polluting or very persistent   =20
     products (in the first three years after planting, maximum of one=20
     dose-equivalent per annum)

To reiterate the independent nature of the IFP organizations and thus, the
difficulty in assessing IFP pesticide rating systems overall, I quote from
a July 97 letter from the co-editor of the most recent IOBC Guidelines,
J.V. Cross: =20

"As far as I am aware there is no such overall listing [ratings] for IFP,
only the listings of individual IFP organisations.  This is a deliberate
policy as we do not want to contradict the hazard classification of
pesticides set by the Pesticide Registration Authorities.  Pesticides are
not only permitted in IFP if they classified as toxic (to humans) on the
label or if they are harmful to key natural enemies (e.g., Phytoseiid
predatory mites, earwigs or Anthocorids) or if they are residual herbicides
or synthetic plant growth regulators.  There is no other system of
classification.  Individual IFP organisations list the pesticides meeting
the criteria for their own region."

Cordially, john





John Vickery, Program Associate
Environment & Agriculture
Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy
2105 1st Ave., S.
Minneapolis, MN  55404-2505
612-870-3430;  FAX -4846
jvickery@iatp.org
http://www.iatp.org/iatp