July 2, 2024

Pest Management Solutions for Specialty Crops and Specialty Uses

The following is a recap of news and updates released by

The IR-4 Project during the month of June.

LATEST NEWS

SOAR Award Nomination Period Now Open

The IR-4 Project is now accepting nominations for the 2024 SOAR Award. This award honors external partners who exemplify the areas of Service, Outreach, Altruism and Research, while supporting specialty crop growers and the mission of The IR-4 Project.

Nominations will be accepted until 11:59 pm PST on Wednesday, July 24. To learn more and submit your nomination(s), please visit our Awards page:

New Video: The Food Use Workshop Process

We are pleased to share this new video tutorial made to introduce newcomers to the Food Use Workshop, or serve as a refresher for those who have participated before. Learn what to expect at the event, and how to get involved in IR-4’s Food Crop research cycle before, during and after the Workshop. Find it on our website and YouTube channel.

EVENT UPDATES

Tentative Agenda Posted for Industry Technology Session

Registration is now open for the annual IR-4 Project Industry Technology Session. This event will be held virtually (via Zoom) on Thursday, July 18, 2024, from 11:30 a.m. to approximately 4 p.m. ET. A tentative agenda has been posted to the event web page.

This event features updates from companies on products already in IR-4 research, as well as new technologies designed to meet the pest management needs of specialty crop producers. The Industry Technology Session is a precursor to the 2024 Food Use Workshop.

Visit the event web page to register and learn more about the Industry Technology Session.

Join Us at the Food Use Workshop

Registration is now OPEN for IR-4's annual Food Use Workshop. This year's priority-setting meeting will take place September 10-12, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Research priorities for residue, product performance, and integrated solutions studies for 2025 will be identified during this workshop. A virtual option will be available for participants unable to attend in person.

The early bird registration rate (valid through August 29) is $375. This rate will increase to $475 on August 30.

The workshop will take place at the Renaissance Milwaukee West Hotel. A block of hotel rooms is available for our in-person meeting attendees from September 8-13. Rooms must be reserved by Monday, August 12, 2024, to receive the group rate of $183/night. Visit the event web page for a room booking link.

A tentative agenda will be shared soon; we anticipate full days of programming on September 10-11, concluding with a half-day on September 12. Please bookmark the event web page, where all the details will be updated as our team finalizes them.

We hope to see you in Milwaukee!

Take Note: New Deadline for Project Requests

In anticipation of the 2024 Food Use Workshop, IR-4 has set key deadlines to help our stakeholders prepare for this collaborative priority-setting event. The most notable date is a new, earlier deadline for the submission of Project Clearance Requests (PCRs). While this deadline has typically been in mid-August, this year's PCR deadline is July 31.

The goal of the earlier deadline is to give industry and regulatory stakeholders (and IR-4 staff) a bit more time for the increasingly complex PCR review process that occurs ahead of the Workshop.

Have a specialty food crop pest problem in mind that you'd like considered at the workshop? Contact your Regional Field Coordinator to get involved in regional priority setting meetings, or visit the Submit a Request page* to get started on a project clearance request (PCR).

*This page also features a video on how to complete a PCR!

Research Symposium Presentations Available for Viewing

Thank you to all who joined our 2024 Research Symposium: Food Crops! IR-4's biology team enjoyed sharing results from impactful plant pathology, entomology and weed science projects. If you missed the Symposium or would like to revisit the content, you may now view the recorded presentations via the event web page.

Join Us as a 2024 IR-4 Event Sponsor

Sponsors make events like the Food Use Workshop possible and help IR-4 deliver on its grower-focused mission. Are you interested in sponsoring IR-4’s 2024 events? Please reach out to ir-4_project@ncsu.edu for more information.

IR-4 CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

IR-4 Headquarters Seeks Environmental Horticulture Program Manager to Join NC State Team

RESEARCH UPDATES

Food Crops

The following tolerance success was added to the IR-4 website in June. Find other tolerance successes under Food Crop Successes & Stories.

• Cyflumetofen (Federal Register date: May 10, 2024)
• Cyantraniliprole (Federal Register date: May 15, 2024)

Environmental Horticulture

The following crop safety research summary was posted to the Environmental Horticulture Program page in June:

— Stay tuned for more in July —

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This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award numbers 2022-79111-38469 and 2021-34383-34848 with substantial cooperation and support from the State Agricultural Experiment Stations, USDA-ARS and USDA-FAS. In accordance with Federal Law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.