Forwarded message:
> From guya Wed Nov 2 18:15:05 1994
> Message-Id: <m0r2ppV-0000AUC@ncatfyv.uark.edu>
> From: guya (Guy Ames)
> Subject: pesticide phase out
> To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu
> Date: Wed, 2 Nov 1994 18:15:01 -0600 (CST)
> Cc: guya (Guy Ames)
> Content-Type: text
> Content-Length: 3884
>
> I'm curious if anyone knows how or where I can get more information
> on the out-of-court settlement which apparently mandates that the EPA
> phase out 36 pesticides. The NRDC was the lead plaintiff. The story
> was the lead item in the most recent (November 94) Alternative
> Agriculture News.
>
> I'm trying to figure out if the phase out is to be for all
> agricultural uses of these pesticides or just uses which apparently
> violate the Delaney Clause (i.e., only processed foods).
>
> I am especially concerned since the list of the 36 includes phosmet
> (imidan), which I have heretofore found indispensable in my very,
> very low-spray apple pest control system. It is the least-toxic
> pesticide available that can control the plum curculio ("the Achilles
> heel of organic apple growers"--Rodale Press). I spray it twice--at
> petal fall and again 10-14 days later and get excellent control of
> this pest, which would otherwise render nearly 100% of my crop
> unsaleable (no, I'm not exagerating--nearly 100%). Most growers in
> the East have to contend with this insidious pest (it is not present
> west of the Rockies). It leaves feeding scars on the outside of the
> apple and a larva (worm) inside.
>
> Thanks to the pioneering efforts of Dr. Ron Prokopy (U. Mass.) and
> other fruit IPM specialists, as well as the breeding efforts of the
> plant breeders at Purdue, Rutgers, and Illinois Universities, I can
> produce marketable apples with just the two aforementioned sprays.
> Conventional spray programs call for 12-20 sprays, and sometimes
> more. One of the keys of this system, though, is the relative
> selectivity of imidan (it is "soft" on some beneficials).
>
> Moreover, imidan is non-persistent in the environment and has a low
> acute toxicity (roughly equal to rotenone). In fact, the most
> probable replacement for imidan is Guthion (azinphosmethyl), a VERY
> acutely toxic pesticide (LD-50 of 10 [the lower the
> LD-50, the more toxic a substance]
> . Imidan's LD-50 (oral, rat) is 147-316 (different
> research led to variations in its rated toxicity), or 15-30 times
> LESS toxic than Guthion. Hell, Guthion is probably not rated a
> carcinogen cuz the lab rats can't
live long enough around it to develop a
> tumor!
>
> Lord, can't common sense prevail? Pesticides are tools just like
> other agricultural tools. And like other agricultural tools, some
> are inherently more dangerous than others (perhaps methyl
> bromide and aldicarb, for instance, should be banned for all but the most extreme emergencies, just like tractors without roll bars and seat belts
should be restricted to only special uses)
), and all can be used well or
> poorly. After all, we humans have despoiled the earth for centuries
> using "certifiably organic" methods--draft animals and plows, etc.
> It's not that the draft animals were "bad" and should have been
> banned--it's just that SOME were employed poorly by the farmers.
> Should we ban all draft animals? All tractors? How about the
> farmers?
>
> No. We need to keep refining our use of tools--whether they be
> computers, tractors, pesticides, etc.--to minimize their deleterious
> effects on society and the environment. In the arena of pesticide
> use, it's IPM that needs to be developed, refined and taught. We
> need to get better at using pesticides, I'll be the first to admit,
> but I know from my own personal situation that it's possible (and
> increasingly likely, it appears) that we can throw out the baby with
> the bath water. I honestly feel that if imidan is removed from all
> uses, that I may well go out of the business I have invested the last
> 20 or so years of my life in. I really don't want to use Guthion,
> and nothing else works against the curculio at this point.
>
(By the way, one of the ways the curculio was controlled in the old days was by clean cultivation in the orchard which destroyed the pupal
cases in the soil, but which also resulted in erosion, loss of
organic matter, soil compaction, etc. etc.)
> Oh yes, I would also like to know if there's something new on imidan
> (phosmet) regarding its carcinogenicity. Last I knew it wasn't
> considered a potent carcinogen. (Will we ban everything that CAN
> cause cancer? Coffee? Beer? Button mushrooms? The sun? C'mon
> folks, it's HOW YOU USE IT!!!!!!)
>