The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), a division of Health Canada, recently released its final decisions on the pollinator re-evaluations of three neonicotinoid insecticides: clothianidin (Clutch), imidacloprid (Admire), and thiamethoxam (Cruiser, Actara).
Health Canada determined that the continued registration of imidacloprid, clothianidin, or thiamethoxam products are acceptable; however, certain uses have been cancelled to address possible risks to pollinators. Many of these cancelled uses affect Canadian fruit and vegetable growers.
Bees and other pollinators are vital to the production of Canadian fruits and vegetables, and growers are intimately aware of the need to protect their pollinators and their mutually beneficial relationship. As such, growers do not make decisions that would hurt their pollinators. As an organization, the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) will work with its members to support farmers during this transitional phase resulting from these long-awaited final decisions.
The PMRA did a thorough science-based risk assessment and accounted for real exposure risks such as plant pollinator attractiveness. For these reasons, most uses on non-attractive crops such as root and tuber vegetables (including potatoes), brassica leafy vegetables, leafy vegetables, and (indoor) greenhouse vegetables remain unchanged. All seed treatments were also approved for continued use.
Many uses of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin were modified or cancelled so as to reduce risk to pollinators during bloom, due to the systemic nature of the chemistries. | For the full story, CLICK HERE.
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