Texas citrus growers are among those urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to revoke all food residue tolerances on five neonicotinoid insecticides used on citrus. This includes acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. The Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. in 2020 petitioned EPA to revoke the food tolerances for residues of those neonicotinoids. EPA has stated that by April 20, 2027, it will complete its review and take action on the request.
“If we lose the neonicotinoids, I might as well push out my orchards and develop subdivisions like everyone else because I won’t have the tools to grow a citrus crop,” Edinburgh, Texas, citrus grower Mark Fryer stated in Aug. 31 comments to EPA. “I use acetamiprid, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam for control of Asian citrus psyllid, citrus leafminer, mealy bugs and California red scale control. These insecticides are easy on beneficial insects. I heard that some people are concerned about bee populations and so am I. The only time we have bees in our orchard is in the spring during bloom time. I don’t use any insecticides during the bloom.”
In Sept. 16 comments to EPA, TJ Flowers of Lone Star Citrus Growers of Mission, Texas, stated his operation uses the same insecticides as Fryer for the same pests.
“These products are selective enough to spare beneficial insects and carry short re-entry and pre-harvest intervals,” said Flowers. “Pollinator health matters to us as much as it does to anyone raising these concerns. Bees are only present in our orchards during the spring bloom, and as a standard practice we apply no insecticides of any kind during that window … Without these products, many of our grower-partners would have little choice but to abandon citrus production altogether and convert their land to residential development, as has already happened elsewhere in the (Lower Rio Grande) Valley. We respectfully urge the EPA to preserve the food-residue tolerances and protect the future of Texas citrus.”
Texas Citrus Mutual President and CEO Dale Murden on Sept. 9 filed comments with EPA representing the interests of Texas citrus growers.
“EPA itself has previously recognized the agricultural importance of neonicotinoid insecticides in citrus,” Murden stated. “In its 2017 neonicotinoid assessments, EPA stated that neonicotinoids were found to be critical for management of the Asian citrus psyllid, the vector associated with huanglongbing … We are not asking EPA to retain a tolerance that the agency determines, based on a complete scientific record, does not satisfy the statutory safety standard. We are asking EPA to ensure that such determinations are made individually, scientifically, transparently and without a predetermined classwide outcome created by litigation deadlines.”
Source: EPA
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