EPA moves to ban insecticide Belt; could have major impact for Arkansas growers

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture
March 1, 2016

Fast Facts:

EPA claims insecticide toxic to some aquatic invertebrates
Insecticide key in combating crop-hungry caterpillars
Lorenz: Belt is “go-to” product for caterpillar control in beans

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LITTLE ROCK — The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that it was seeking to cancel registration for a key insecticide used to combat crop-hungry pests such as fall armyworm and corn earworm.

At issue is flubendiamide, an insecticide commonly known as Belt, made by Bayer Crop Science product. It’s also known as Tourismo, labeled for tree fruits and grapes, and Vetica, labeled for strawberries and squashes, made by Nichino America. The insecticide has been labeled for use in more than 200 crops, including row crops, pistachios and oranges.

Last month the Environmental Protection Agency has asked two manufacturers to voluntarily cancel uses of four pest control products containing flubendiamide, including Belt, made by Bayer Crop Science.

The move follows a Jan. 29 effort by the EPA to get Bayer and Nichino America to voluntarily cancel registration for the insecticide, which was rejected.

Gus Lorenz extension entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said Belt is currently the “go-to” product for controlling caterpillar pests in soybeans and other crops.

“It’s been the major product used for control of soybean caterpillars for a long time. So boll worms or corn ear worms, and soybean loopers, the army worm complex — all those pests, we use Belt for control."

The EPA initially issued a temporary registration for Belt in 2008, which was contingent on the findings of long-term studies on any adverse affects of the insecticide. According to an EPA statement released Tuesday, several studies indicated the product may be toxic to benthic invertebrates, part of the aquatic food chain.

In response to the EPA’s request for voluntary cancellation, Bayer issued a statement Feb. 5, publicly rejecting the request, explaining that Bayer “believes the methods used by the EPA exaggerate environmental risk and would deny farmers access to a critical pest management tool.”

Out of reach

Lorenz said the second most commonly used insecticide to control caterpillar pests in crops is Prevathon, a DuPont product. Both Belt and Prevathon belong to the diamide class of insecticides, a fact that Lorenz said may put both out of reach for growers in the state and elsewhere.

“It only stands to reason that if there’s an issue with Belt, there might be a similar issue with Prevathon,” Lorenz said. “Between the two products, you can account for about 90 percent of efforts to control caterpillars in soybeans, as well as grain sorghum, corn, and to some degree, cotton.”

Lorenz said the current label for Belt is still active, and the product is legal to use in Arkansas. If both Belt and Prevathon become illegal or unavailable, growers will still have access to several other insecticides that can control caterpillars, Lorenz said, although none of them are known to be as effective.

“We have a limited number of insecticides that are still reasonably effective for control of caterpillar pests,” Lorenz said. “But these two products are extremely efficacious, and have longer residual control than most of the other products currently available.

“There’s a reason why they’re the product of choice — it’s because they’re very safe, with low mammalian toxicity — not toxic to off-target organisms, specifically us,” he said. “There’s been no impact on honey bees, and other than the benthic organisms, there’s been very little indication that there’s any off-target issued.

“We don’t have any other products outside that class that provide quite that level of control. So that’s a big concern,” Lorenz said.

For more information on pest insect management, contact your county extension office or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu

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