Chlorpyrifos (Lorsban/Govern/Hatchet/Pilot/Warhawk/others) has not yet seen its last days on the market. Recall that on August 18, 2021, EPA issued its final rule revoking all chlorpyrifos tolerances, meaning that no residue was allowed on any food or animal feed after February 28, 2022. This ruling was then challenged by a chlorpyrifos registrant and several grower groups in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeal and on November 2, 2023, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeal issued a ruling vacating EPA’s final rule, resulting in the tolerances having to be reassessed by EPA. EPA is expected to propose a new rule to revoke the tolerances associated with all but 11 uses referenced by the court, which would allow use on alfalfa, apple, asparagus, cherry (tart), citrus, cotton, peach, soybean, strawberry, sugar beet, wheat (spring), and wheat (winter) with potential additional restrictions.

The EPA has not yet issued a Federal Register Notice and as of December 28, 2023, all previously existing food tolerances have been reinstated by Court mandate. What this means is that all uses on all agricultural crops, including fruits and vegetables, can be used in 2024 according to the prior labels for products that are still registered. Some exceptions apply for some states that had already banned chlorpyrifos for crops grown in their state and for some large buyers such as Whole Foods. This means that packers such as Rice Fruit Company will not be able to accept fruit treated with chlorpyrifos.

Since the final rule by EPA in 2021, many manufacturers, including Corteva, have stopped producing chlorpyrifos. Currently only Gharda Chemicals and Drexel are still producing it and products such as Pilot 4E, Pilot 15G, Chlorpyrifos 4E, Chlorpyrifos 15G, etc. will still be sold through companies such as Helena and Nutrien. Be aware that stocks may be limited though. This means that you can use your existing stocks of chlorpyrifos products on the 11 crops listed above AND any other crops not listed above that will not be legal to be sprayed with chlorpyrifos after the 2024 season.

For more info on the use of Chlorpyrifos in tree fruit, please see this article by David Biddinger at Penn State.

This article was posted in Insects, Other News and Resources and tagged Chlorpyrifos, Christelle Guédot, Insecticides, insects.