ND Department of Agriculture Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 6, 2008

EPA GRANTS FULL REGISTRATION FOR POPULAR FUNGICIDE

BISMARCK — Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson says the decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to register a widely used fungicide for controlling Fusarium head blight and other diseases in wheat and barley is great news for North Dakota producers.

“We have been operating for 11 years now on one-year exemptions for Folicur 3.6F®,” Johnson said. “Having a permanent registration means wheat and barley producers can count on having this tool available to them during this and future growing seasons.”

Johnson said the updated labeling for Folicur 3.6 is posted on the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) online pesticide registration database –www.kellysolutions.com/nd– for public access and download.

“Anyone using Folicur 3.6F on wheat and barley must comply with all directions, restrictions, and precautions on both the supplemental labeling and the full product label,” Johnson said. “Users can go to the online database and download both the updated product label and the supplemental labeling for wheat and barley.”

Johnson said NDDA staff has been working with EPA since last October on the Section 3 registration for Folicur.

“We were also fortunate to have research data and comments from Dr. Marcia McMullen, the plant pathologist from North Dakota State University and a recognized authority on wheat diseases,” he said. “The North Dakota Grain Growers Association was also very helpful in this effort.”

Johnson also credited EPA with devoting extra time and effort on the registration.

“The EPA devoted considerable manpower to this project at a time when their resources are stretched,” Johnson said. “Their staff – Lois Rossi, the registration division director; Cynthia Giles-Parker, the fungicide branch chief, and Mary Waller, the product manager – went above and beyond the call of duty for North Dakota producers.”

Johnson first asked EPA for an exemption for Folicur 3.6F in 1997, and had successfully obtained exemptions for the fungicide every year since.

“A Section 18 exemption for 2008 was not an option because EPA granted a full registration last year for an alternative product, Proline®,” Johnson said. “Now, producers will have a choice between these products.”

Folicur 3.6F Flowable Fungicide is manufactured by Bayer CropScience.

Fusarium head blight, also known as scab, is the most serious disease of wheat and barley in North Dakota. The fungus causes severe yield losses and produces vomitoxin that can result in an unmarketable crop.

North Dakota leads the nation in the production of wheat and barley.

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MEDIA: For more information, please call Ted Quanrud at (701) 328-2233 or tquanrud@nd.gov or Patrice Lahlum at (701) 239-7210 or plahlum@nd.gov.