Here’s a roundup of news from Canada and the U.S. 

Recent announcements at PMRA

Two announcements regarding the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) were made recently from Ottawa. As a branch of Health Canada, the PMRA is the federal agency responsible for the regulation of pesticides in Canada.

Re-Evaluation Program Review

The Pest Control Products Act requires that the PMRA perform re-evaluation of each registered crop protection material – conventional or biological – every 15 years to determine if uses are acceptable for current standards. The PMRA is initiating a review of the re-evaluation program that will seek to enhance stakeholder engagement, improve efficiency, and increase collaboration with international regulators on re-evaluation work. Starting this fall, the PMRA will be organizing sessions with stakeholders to seek input on current challenges and successes of the existing program. Re-evaluation processes from other countries, including the U.S., Australia, and Europe, will also be examined to determine potential alternative models. The PMRA will present its findings and options for changes to the re-evaluation process to stakeholders in late winter or spring 2019. Further recommendations will be made in consultation with stakeholder feedback.

Both the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) and the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) intend to participate in the review of the re-evaluation program. Additional grower input will be sought as more information on the review becomes available. We are optimistic about this opportunity to make impactful change on the way re-evaluations are conducted in Canada.

U.S. Minor Use update from IR-4

US IR-4 priority projects relevant to Canadian horticulture selected at the 2018 annual meeting in St. Louis, MO.

Representatives from the OFVGA attended the 2018 IR-4 Food Use & Biopesticide Workshop in St. Louis, Missouri in September 2018 to stay updated on the U.S. minor use system. Established in 1963, the IR-4 program facilitates the registration of conventional and biological crop protection products on both edible horticulture crops and minor non-food crops in the United States. The program is the counterpart to the Minor Use Pesticides Program (MUPP) in Canada. Although the IR-4 uses a different process to establish its final priorities, ultimately, it must also get down to a limited list of ‘A’ priority projects. The priority projects are then pursued for further research to establish efficacy, crop tolerance, and/or residue information to support product registration. More than 45,000 registrations for minor use crops have been developed through IR-4 since its inception.

Keeping up to date with the activities at IR-4 is important to Canadian horticulture for two key reasons. Firstly, introductions of new crop protection materials, whether conventional or biological, are often done at IR-4 before similar presentations are made in Canada. It is a good look into what new technologies may offer solutions for Canadian minor use priorities in the coming years. Secondly, there is also an established history of cooperation between the Canadian MUPP and IR-4 leading to more efficient and effective research, and ideally quicker registrations. As data generated on either side of the border is acceptable to both U.S. and Canadian regulatory agencies, there is no need to duplicate projects and resources can be maximized.

A total of 54 conventional projects were selected for priority at the 2018 annual meeting. The projects of relevance to Canadian horticulture are noted in the sidetable. In addition, spotted wing drosophila (SWD), downy mildew and cucumber beetle in cucurbits, and bacterial diseases of fruiting vegetables were among those selected as biopesticide priorities. Also attending were representatives from Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), the Ontario Ginseng Growers’ Association (OGGA), and the Canadian greenhouse vegetable industry. You may find additional information on the IR-4 website at https://www.ir4project.org/