ND Department of Agriculture Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 13, 2008

JOHNSON OKAYS INSECTICIDE TO CONTROL WIREWORM IN SUGARBEETS

BISMARCK – Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson has issued a special local needs (SLN) registration for Mustang Max® EC, enabling North Dakota sugarbeet producers to use the insecticide to control wireworm.

“FMC Corp. is replacing Mustang Max® with the newer formulation Mustang Max EC,” Johnson said. “Although other insecticides, such as Counter® and Lorsban®, are registered for wireworm control in sugarbeets, Mustang Max and Mustang Max EC are less toxic than these products, and are thus eligible for a 24(C) registration under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenicide Act.”

Johnson said he has also informed the EPA that he is extending the SLN registration for Mustang Max to 2013 to give dealers and applicators time to dispose of their stock of the older product.

The SLN labeling for Mustang Max EC allows up to three aerial or ground applications at a maximum use rate of four ounces of product per acre. The total seasonal application cannot exceed 0.075 pounds of active ingredient per acre. No applications can be made within 50 days of harvest of sugar beet tops or roots.

The SLN labeling prohibits the use of Mustang Max EC on sugar beets grown under flood irrigation in McKenzie and Williams counties to reduce the risk of harm to the pallid sturgeon, one of North Dakota’s seven threatened or endangered species.

Applicators must follow all directions, restrictions and precautions on both the SLN supplemental labeling and the EPA- registered product label. They must have a copy of the SLN labeling in their possession during application.

Wireworms (Limonius spp.) feed on sugar beets during the growing season and cause reduced plant growth or death of the plant.

North Dakota is the nation’s third leading producer of sugarbeets, growing 18 percent of the U.S. total.

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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.