Help arrives in the stink bug battle
Some good news for Maryland fruit growers.
The EPA approved, for emergency use, the insecticide dinotefuran (trade names Venom and Scorpion) on tree fruit to help manage populations of the brown marmorated stink bug.
The nvasive insect caused extensive yield losses in tree fruit production in the mid-Atlantic region last year and was expected to do even more damage this season.
The approval, known as an emergency exemption, applies to Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey. Under the exemption, producers of stone fruit (such as peaches, plums and cherries) and pome fruit (including apples and pears) are allowed to manage the brown marmorated stink bug with two applications of dinotefuran by ground equipment per season.
EPA has assessed the risks of the exemption involving dinotefuran and finds that it meets the current safety standards. Dinotefuran is already approved for use on leafy vegetables, cotton, grapes, potatoes and a variety of other crops.
Also, the EPA approved an additional use for an insecticide that may help manage stink bugs in organic production systems. The new product contains azadirachtin and pyrethrins, which are derived from botanical ingredients.
Comments
is this available for people who have fruit trees but are not commercial farmers?
Posted by: bryanintowson | July 6, 2011 1:47 PM