PMEP Home Page IR-4: Minor Use Registration The IR-4 Project Fact Sheet, 2000

     Minor crops are high value crops such as fruit, vegetables, nursery plants and others. Although they are grown on low acreage compared to corn, wheat, soybeans and cotton, minor crops are worth $40 billion, are produced in all states and make up 40% of the total value of all U.S. crops. The crop protection industry has little economic incentive to pursue pest control product registrations on minor crops. For over 35 years, IR-4 has worked successfully to fill this gap in providing pest management tools (pesticides and biopesticides) for minor crop growers. IR-4 conducts field trials and residue analyses under Good Laboratory Practices to develop food safety data on minor crops that result in the clearance of effective pest management agents by EPA. At least 40% of the pesticide registrations issued by EPA originate in the IR-4 program and IR-4 is vital for the future of minor crops in the USA.

• The IR-4 Project is a model partnership between the USDA (both CSREES and ARS) and the land grant university system with headquarters at Rutgers University and Regional Offices at the University of California, Cornell University, University of Florida and Michigan State University. Research laboratories and field research centers are located in twenty-five states with representation in all 50 states and territories.
  
  
• The Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996 set new standards for food safety. The law gives added protections from pesticide exposure on food, especially for infants and children. An EPA review of all pesticides used on food crops is underway. As a result, some critical pesticides used on many important minor crops such as fruit and vegetables will be removed from the market or have their uses seriously curtailed.
  
  
• IR-4 is working to make alternative pest control products available that are safer and can replace those that are lost due to FQPA. Our focus is primarily on EPA-characterized Reduced Risk pest control products and biopesticides. To accomplish this goal, IR-4 works close collaboration with grower and commodity groups, state university extension and researchers, USDA scientists, the agrochemical industry, and the EPA. Each partner is a significant link in the chain needed to obtain a pest control product registration for minor crops.
  
  
• IR-4 has achieved over 500 pest control clearances on food crops, over 7000 clearances on ornamental crops and over 100 biopesticide clearances to date. IR-4 and EPA recently agreed on decreased data requirements for new reduced risk pesticides that saved $1 million in research costs. The savings were redirected to additional priority needs. IR-4 is working cooperatively with other nations on the exchange of registration support data, saving even more research dollars, thus assisting U.S. growers and protecting the public health.

As FQPA restricts or eliminates the use of important pesticides on food crops, the work done by the IR-4 Project is critical to maintain the quality, quantity and competitiveness of fruit and vegetable production in the United States.

     Based on a series of discussions and a Workshop involving all the stakeholders in the IR-4 program. IR-4 updated its strategic plan in January, 2000 to ensure that it is properly focused for new challenges under FQPA and to assess its future funding needs. The budget needs, if IR-4 is to continue to meet the minor crop pest management challenge for the next five years, are presented below:

• The Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) threatens many broad spectrum pest control products. New replacement products are more selective, therefore a large number of projects are needed to replace the products that will be lost. The demand for high priority projects is currently overwhelming the system in both the food-use and ornamentals programs. Increased funding will allow IR-4 to increase the number of high priority investigations in each program.
  
  
• The new chemistries require additional expensive analytical instrumentation and upgrades for current equipment in order to conduct efficient residue analysis. Equipment improvements will begin with three state of the art LC/MS/MS units, at a cost of $250,000 per unit. This equipment will also speed residue analysis fourfold providing much increased efficiency for the program.
  
  
• Because of the urgency created by FQPA, IR-4 has established a goal of completing projects within 30 months of initiation. This will involve new investments in personnel and for improved communication between IR-4, the IR-4 State Liaison Representatives, growers and other stakeholders, particularly in identifying new pest management needs.

     The specific program plans and the budget justifications for IR-4 are described in greater detail in the IR-4 Strategic Plan. Copies of the plan are available from Dr. Robert Holm, IR-4 Executive Director (732-932-9575, holm@aesop.rutgers.edu) or from Dr. James Parochetti, USDA/CSREES, (202-401-4354, jparochetti@reeusda.gov). The Strategic Plan is also available on the IR-4 web site at: http://pestdata.ncsu.edu/ir-4/

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For more information relative to pesticides and their use in New York State, please contact the PMEP staff at:   5123 Comstock Hall Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-0901 (607) 255-1866

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