Hi everyone. Dr. John Tooker’s email: tooker@psu.edu. He does want your comments. Again, my apologies.

Metaldehyde (Deadline products) labeled use in corn and soybeans in jeopardy
One of the reasons that slugs are such a challenge in no-till field crops is the lack of commercially available pest management tools. Among the few viable options for slug control are metaldehyde-based baits, the best well known of which are the Deadline products (e.g., Deadline Bullets and Deadline Mini-Pellets), but others are available.
The active ingredient metaldehyde is produced by a European company called Lonza and needs periodic re-registration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The latest re-registration is underway, and we recently learned that Lonza has decided to let corn and soybeans drop from the label. The IR-4 Project (which facilitates registration of pest management tools; http://ir4.rutgers.edu/) has submitted a petition to EPA to establish tolerances on these and other commodities (which would allow their continued registration on the metaldehyde label), but in the near future it could be that growers would not be allowed to use metaldehyde-based products to protect their corn and soybean fields for perhaps a year or two until the EPA publishes a final rule on the proposed tolerances.

Since learning of this problem, various organizations including IR4, AMVAC (the producer of Deadline products), and University-based and NRCS personnel have mobilized to try to maintain uninterrupted use of metaldehyde in corn and soybeans. Our efforts are directed toward the EPA, where the final decision lies. It is promising that such a range of voices have emerged in support of maintaining the current uses of metaldehyde, but it would be valuable for EPA to hear from growers and grower groups. If you have the energy to send them a note, please contact me by email or phone (814-865-7082) and I can help you make this happen.

Contact Information
John Tooker

Greetings, I just got off the phone with Micah Raub (VDACS), and he told me that the 24c for use of Avipel in VA has been approved.

Avipel re-certification was declined by EPA for lack of data; however, Micah Raub has been working with Ken Ballinger on a 24c, and it looks like VDACS is going to submit the paperwork this Friday. Shipping of product may occur by early next week. This latest information from Mr. Ken Ballinger.

I just visited with Ken Ballinger, my contact with the company Airepel, and he’s confident Avipel will be registered within the next couple of days. So to save a day, he urges corn growers to go ahead and place their orders for Avipel with their supplier.

VDACS just sent me a copy of a letter sent to EPA positively arguing their/our case for Avipel use in VA.

Greetings, I sincerely apologize for the runaround. That said, I came up with a simpler solution. Just email me (youngman@vt.edu) with the answer to the following question: “How has the loss of Lindane impacted your yields in relationship to bird depredation?” Many thanks, Rod

Greetings, I’ll try my attachment again. Additional information: 2011-crop-year-pdf