Cary, N.C.-Developer Arysta LifeScience North America is pursuing registration in all 50 states for a new crop fumigant after recently receiving restricted approval from EPA. Mike Allen, Arysta LifeScience product manager for the iodomethane (methyl Iodide) product brand named MIDAS, anticipates the first state registration will be achieved in December in the southeast U.S. California, where MIDAS is expected to be well-received as a replacement for the controversial methyl bromide, requires its own registration process, and Arysta is working with officials there to meet all requirements. Despite health concerns voiced by 54 chemists and other scientists, EPA has granted a one-year registration of MIDAS under what the agency terms as highly restrictive provisions governing its use as a pre-plant soil fumigant to control plant pathogens, nematodes, insects, and weeds on strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, ornamentals, turf, trees, and vines. EPA insists the risk assessment process for iodomethane has been one of the most thorough analyses ever conducted on a new pesticide. Allen declared that MIDAS is “the fumigant answer many growers have been looking for because it provides broad-spectrum control of target pests and diseases and uses conventional application techniques and equipment. MIDAS has been proven to be as effective as methyl bromide at lower application rates.” He said MIDAS has been in experimental use in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia since 2006, and on test acreage added by EPA in California in 2007. Half of the growers who participated are said to experience on average a 19 percent yield increase compared to methyl bromide on side-by-side trials on commercial acreage. The remaining growers saw results similar to those achieved with methyl bromide. The 54 objectors from the science community sent EPA a letter Sept. 25 citing potential human health and environmental concerns and requesting additional peer review. But EPA insists that “when used according to strict procedures, iodomethane is not only an effective pesticide, but also meets the health and safety standards for registering pesticides. By using a thorough evaluation process, the agency concluded that there are adequate safety margins and the registration does not pose unreasonable risks.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain