Periodic Review of pesticides is a need of hour

 

 




June 11, 2023

Further to my FB post on the 9th of this month on insecticides approved for use in brinjal,

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0YetbFX2tkj22KM8tSXB1rtJfuec83YaGtCoJjfM1dyb8NAP9vA3BfLE8YcNRrFrvl&id=208392785855018&mibextid=qC1gEa

 

I tried to answer the following questions 

1. How effective are these in recent times? In other words, are new insecticides more effective than those in the past?

2. Are the new insecticides safer to environment and human health than those in the past?

 For this, I focused on those specifically approved for mite control i.e. acaricides/miticides in brinjal. 

Results 

1. Yes, new miticides (these too are 20 years old) are more effective than those registered 30-70 years ago.

2. Difficult to judge as info specific to India is not available. Env & human safety database does not show them absolutely safe on all accounts for some. Alternatively, safety is on borderline.

Surprise is Flumite, also known as Flufenzin or Flufenzine registered around 2000 or earlier of probably Hungarian origin for which no data is available on its environmental and public health safety. Please do not confuse it with Flubenzimine which is an obsolete miticide.

 

Registration

Name

Formulation

Target pests

A I g/ha

Formulation

Res status$

ADI

PHI

WHO class

EPA/IARC

in the world

ml or gm/ha

mg/kgbw/day

of hazard

carcinogenicity

Env fate

Ecotox

Human hlt

1950-60

Dicofol

18.5% EC

Yellow mite

500-1000

2700-5400

12(64)

0.002

15-20

III

possibly carcinogenic

NA

NA

NA

Malathion

50% EC

mites

750

1500

15(15)

0.03

NA

III

suggestive but not confirmed

Orange

Red

Red

1960-70

Propargite

57% EC

two spotted mite

570

1000

7(18)

0.03

6

III

probably carcinogen

Red

Red

Red

1970-80

Flumite/Flufenzine/

20% SC

mite

80-100

400-500

NA

NA

5

III

NA

NA

NA

NA

Diflovidazin^

1980-90

Hexythiazox

5.45% EC

Red spidermite

25

500

5(18)

0.03

7

IV

likely to be

Orange

Red

Orange

1990-2000

Fenazaquin

10% EC

Red spidermite

125

1250

2(7)

0.05

7

II

Not likely

Red

Red

Orange

18.3% SC

Red spidermite

114.375

625

10

Etoxazole

10% SC

Red spidermite

40

400

1(3)

0.05

5

IV

Not likely

NA

NA

NA

2000-2010

Spiromesifen

22.9% SC

Red spidermite

96

400

4(19)

0.03

5

NA

Not likely

Orange

Red

Orange

$ not specific to India as per pesticideresistance.org.

^Not to be confused with flubenzimine which is obsolute miticide too

Figures outside and in parenteses are confirmed cases of total

IARC website

Pesticide Manual, 13h editon, ed. CDS Tomlin, BCPC, UK, 2007

http://sitem.herts.ac.uk/aeru/ppdb/en/atoz_insect.htm

In the absence of database from reliable sources, it is surprising that Flumite/Flufenzin is still listed as an approved miticide. My survey of about 125 scientists showed that most did not use it too and some did not hear it. Why CIB is then still listing insecticides of questionable value and misleading the users? Why it’s being marketed? 

If the safety of single-insecticide formulation is so difficult to assess and know, how about the two- or more insecticide combination formulations?

It is high time that pesticides are regularly reviewed and if needed banned or restricted for use.



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