Blueberries Well Positioned at IR-4 Workshop

Blueberries are in a good position when it comes to getting pesticides prioritized for registration within the federal IR-4 Project, according to Dani Lightle, former IR-4 Specialty Crops Pesticide Registration Research Leader at Oregon State University.

Dani Lightle

“Blueberries are in a pretty good position from an IR-4 standpoint because not only is it something that we advocate for in the Western region, but we have regions in the South that also grow blueberry, we have regions in Michigan that grow blueberry and we have regions in New Jersey that also support blueberry projects,” Lightle said during a presentation at the Oregon Blueberry Conference in February. “And so, when we have support from a lot of regions, we can do well on project prioritization.”

Reflective of this, at the most recent Food Use Workshop, an annual meeting where the IR-4 Project sets annual priorities, several products designed for use in blueberries made the final cut.

Spidoxamat, a new active ingredient from Bayer Crop Science that has the same mode of action as Movento, is among the products designed for use in blueberry that IR-4 is looking to advance through the registration process. “It was requested for its aphid activity, but most likely it has activity against other piercing and sucking insects, as well,” Lightle said.

To date, the requested use pattern for Spidoxamat is chemigation. “We’ll see what eventually comes out in terms of use pattern once that is negotiated with the registrant and what they’re willing to support. But that might come out with only a chemigation label,” she said.

Epyrifenacil, an herbicide with the trade name Rapidicil, also made the cut. It has been requested for dormant applications. “One of the main reasons that it was supported is as a resistance management tool and its ability to serve as an alternative to paraquat,” Lightle said.

Epyrifenacil has yet to be funded for residue trials, Lightle said, as the registrant wanted to make sure that it was safe for blueberries before moving forward with that step. Epyrifenacil trials to date have been focused on efficacy and crop safety in blueberry. “Once those show that the herbicide is safe for blueberry production, then we can move it forward into residue trials,” Lightle said.

Another project with potential benefits for blueberry production was funded through a newer program within IR-4 called Integrated Solutions, a program that evaluates different pest management strategies and technologies that can be incorporated into crop protection programs.

Within Integrated Solutions, IR-4 prioritized three different organic materials for spotted wing drosophila control: JetAg, Sil-Matrix and Parka. The products are being looked at as potential deterrents for oviposition. “That goes out this year, so hopefully we’ll have some information on the efficacy of these particular products,” Lightle said.

“So, blueberries did very well at the Food Use Workshop this year, and I’m excited to have some of these newer projects coming out that the program will be continuing to be able to work on,” Lightle said.

Lightle left the OSU IR-4 Program last October to take a position as Policy and Stewardship Director for Oregonians for Food and Shelter. She has been replaced by Dalila Rendon, former research associate at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Unit in Corvallis.

Blueberry Pesticide Registrations Help Up by ESA Compliance

The federal IR-4 Project has advanced several pesticides toward registration for use in blueberries, but a roadblock in the form of litigation is preventing the project from bringing the products to the finish line, according to Dani Lightle, former IR-4 Specialty Crops Pesticide Registration Research Leader at Oregon State University.

“Everything has come to a screeching halt,” Lightle said. “And the real reason for that is litigation.”

As part of the EPA settlement to a lawsuit challenging the way the agency registers pesticides for use in crops, the agency is working on mitigations for growers to address when applying pesticides in areas where endangered species are present. The mitigations are spelled out on “Bulletins”, Lightle said, and can be accessed through the EPA’s Bulletins Live! Two website.

“EPA is working on strategies for how they are going to assess risk and impart mitigations to offset that risk to endangered species when we’re using herbicides, when we’re using rodenticides, when we’re using insecticides and when we’re using fungicides in agricultural production.”

Dani Lightle

“EPA is working on strategies for how they are going to assess risk and impart mitigations to offset that risk to endangered species when we’re using herbicides, when we’re using rodenticides, when we’re using insecticides and when we’re using fungicides in agricultural production,” Lightle said.

The Bulletins Live! Two supplemental label will describe what mitigations a grower or applicator is responsible for when applying a material, Lightle said, after asking growers to input the location of the proposed application, the product being applied and the application method.

“And then it’s going to have the limitation or the mitigation language that you would be responsible for complying with,” she said.

Lightle advised growers to check the EPA’s tutorial on Bulletins Live! Two if they have questions. “The tutorial is actually pretty good,” she said. “So, if you are stuck, go ahead and view that.”

As for the products affected by this issue, there are several pending use in blueberries.
 
Within the fungicide category, the product florylpicoxamid, or Adavelt, is a prime example of a product caught up in the lawsuit. A Syngenta product, it is a newer active ingredient, that has gone through the IR-4 program and is pending submission to EPA for use in blueberry. “So, once EPA is willing to consider that package, it is ready to go,” Lightle said.

Rhyme, with the active material flutriafol, is a Group 3 fungicide that would target mummy berry, stem blight and anthracnose in blueberry. The product was in field trials in 2024, and it is now moving into the lab analysis stage, she said.

Parade, or pyraziflumid, is another fungicide being looked at for use in blueberries. It was not worked on by IR-4, but was submitted to EPA directly by the registrant, Nichino. “It is a Group 7, and in an ideal world, we would see a tolerance for that set in 2025,” Lightle said.

Several insecticides in the IR-4 Project are ready to move forward when the roadblock opens, she said, including PQZ, or pyrifluquinazon. It is a Group 9B insecticide that would target thrips. The insecticide AgriMek, or abamectin, is in the same boat, she said. It too is waiting for EPA to accept its submission.

Buprofezin, which is expected to come out under the trade name Courier, is also awaiting clearance, in this case, from California. “The last time I spoke to the registrant on this one, they were waiting for CDPR (California Department of Pesticide Regulation) to approve it before they move forward with the supplemental label.” A Group 16 insecticide, Buprofezin would target scale in blueberries.

And lastly, there are a couple of herbicides in the pipeline, including Rinskor. “This was funded for crop safety and efficacy work a couple of years ago, but it still has some crop safety trials that are ongoing,” Lightle said. The product is exempt from tolerances, she added, so it does not have to go through the full EPA submission process once the registrant is satisfied that it is safe for use in blueberries.

Finally there is ShieldEx, with the active ingredient tolpyralate. The product is a Group 27 herbicide that has been in field trials this past year. It is moving into the lab analysis stage, Lightle said.

Dalila Rendon, former research associate at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Unit in Corvallis, has been named the new IR-4 Specialty Crops Pesticide Registration Research Leader at Oregon State University.