Contact: Donna Gilson, 608-224-5130
donna.gilson@wi.
Bill Cosh, 608-224-5020
William2.Cosh@
MADISON – Public comments are open through April 5 on a proposed pesticide registration for a special local need in Wisconsin, allowing lima bean growers to use Reflex® to control two weed species.
The registration would help growers control Palmer amaranth and nightshade. Palmer amaranth is a new weed to Wisconsin’s specialty crop farmers in recent years. It is often resistant to herbicides and each plant may produce 100,000 seeds, so it can quickly take over a field and crowd out crops. Nightshade produces toxic berries late in the season. Processors may turn down an entire field of lima beans if nightshade is present to avoid risking contamination. There are currently few pesticide options available to lima bean growers, and they do not provide broad, season-long control.
Syngenta is the manufacturer, and the active ingredient is sodium salt of fomesafen.
The preliminary environmental assessment indicates that the proposed registration will not require a full environmental assessment. This special registration will expire Dec. 31, 2021. The product has not previously had any special registrations.
For a copy of the assessment, contact Otto Oemig, DATCP, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI, 53708-8911, 608-224-4542, [email protected]. It is also available for review at the department Monday–Friday, 7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m., 2811 Agriculture Dr., Madison, second floor. Comments received on or before 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 5, will become part of the preliminary environmental assessment record. Send comments to Otto Oemig by mail at the above postal or email address.
The special registration process allows states to register additional uses of pesticide products other than those listed on their labels, without prior federal approval. It helps growers address local pest problems that cannot be adequately controlled by any available federally registered product. These problems include insect outbreaks, fungal diseases, and grasses and weeds that outcompete crops.
Details about the special registration process are available at https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/
