IR-4 Month in Review: May 2023

May 31, 2023

Pest Management Solutions for Specialty Crops and Specialty Uses

The following is a recap of news and updates announced by The IR-4 Project during the month of May.

LATEST NEWS

IR-4 Petition Yields First Conventional Pesticide Tolerance for Hemp

In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first conventional pesticide tolerance for hemp seed-a significant success for The IR-4 Project and hemp growers seeking more pest management tools. Ethalfluralin, a conventional herbicide already used on crops like soybeans, peanuts and potatoes, will help hemp growers manage annual broadleaf and grassy weeds that compete with young plants.

The IR-4 Project Inducts Bernard Zandstra into Hall of Fame

The IR-4 Headquarters team is pleased to announce the induction of Bernard H. Zandstra, Ph.D. into the IR-4 Hall of Fame. Dr. Zandstra was nominated by Dr. John Wise and Nicole Soldan and was approved by the Project Management Committee for this award in recognition of his 40+ years of outstanding service to IR-4 as a Field Research Director in the North Central Region.

HEADQUARTERS NEWS

Job Opening at IR-4 HQ

Our team is growing! IR-4 Headquarters is hiring a Program Operations Coordinator to join our team at North Carolina State University. Reporting to the Chief of Staff, this role will be an integral part of the team that provides comprehensive operational support to IR-4 HQ.

Visit our Careers page to learn more and apply!

Welcome, Raven and Josh!

This month, Headquarters gained two exceptional team members. Please join us in welcoming them to IR-4!

Raven Baez

Science Communications Intern rebaez@ncsu.edu

Josh Peterson

Quality Assurance Auditor

jlpeter3@ncsu.edu

HQ Team Transition:

Venkat Pedibhotla Accepts New Opportunity

IR-4 Headquarters announced earlier this month that Dr. Venkat Pedibhotla has transitioned to a new opportunity (as of May 5, 2023). We thank Venkat for his contributions during his time at IR-4!

Dr. Alice Axtell is now serving as Interim Director of Research Planning and Product Performance (in addition to Principal Entomologist). She can be reached by email at aaxtell@ncsu.edu or by phone at (919) 515-3055 (office).

UPCOMING EVENTS

Additional information is coming soon for all three of the following events. Keep an eye on our events web page for updates!

INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY SESSION — Registration is now open!

Thursday, July 20, 2023 | Virtual

In preparation for the Food Use Workshop, this annual event gives companies the opportunity to present updates on products already in IR-4 research, as well as new technologies. Visit the ITS event webpage to register and find more details.

FOOD USE WORKSHOP — Registration coming this week!

September 12-14, 2023 | Raleigh, NC (virtual option available)

Research priorities for residue studies, efficacy and crop safety research, and integrated solutions projects for 2024 will be identified during this workshop. Visit the FUW event webpage for more details coming soon.

ENVIRONMENTAL HORTICULTURE WORKSHOP — Registration coming in July!

October 10-12, 2023 | Little Rock, AR (virtual option available)

Research priorities for the 2024-2025 environmental horticulture research cycle will be identified during this workshop. Visit the EHC event webpage for more details coming soon.

The EHC Grower & Extension survey, which helps shape the next research cycle with green industry pest management needs, is accepting responses until September 1. Fill out the survey on the Grower Needs page.

Interested in Becoming a Sponsor?

IR-4's busy event calendar wouldn't be possible without the support of our sponsors. Interested in joining as a sponsor this year? Reach out to ir-4_project@ncsu.edu.

We are grateful for your support!

RESEARCH UPDATES

FOOD CROP TOLERANCE SUCCESSES

The following tolerance successes were added to our website in April 2023 (find them under Food Crop Successes & Stories):

Fluazifop-p-butyl (Federal register date: April 27, 2023)
Ethalfluralin (Federal register date: April 10, 2023)

ENVIRONMENTAL HORTICULTURE UPDATES

The EHC Program released three new research summaries in May:

Botrytis Efficacy Summary

At the EHC Workshop in 2011, Botrytis Efficacy was selected as a high-priority project to expand the knowledge and list of fungicides available to growers for these diseases. In addition to research collected through the IR-4 Program, this summary includes a review of experiments conducted from 1998 to 2022 on environmental horticulture crops.

S-Metolachlor Crop Safety Summary

From 2004 to 2022, IR-4 completed 231 trials on Pennant Magnum (s-metolachlor). The data contained in this report was generated to register uses of s-metolachlor on and around environmental horticulture plants with over-the-top applications.

Mealybug Efficacy Summary

Managing mealybugs and scale insects presents unique challenges. Products with contact modes of action must be applied at specific timings in order to reach the most susceptible crawler stages, often targeting stems or leaf petioles not readily accessible due to dense foliage.

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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 number 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.