When growers experience pest outbreaks and need to decide on a pesticide product that will help, an important consideration is the product’s ecotoxicological profile.
Ecotoxicology combines the fields of ecology and toxicology, and is the study of how chemicals affect groups of species and the environment. Before approving a pesticide, the EPA requires data on the pesticide’s potential risks to human health and the environment (About Pesticide Registration, EPA). Growers can use this and additional data to compare the risks of different pesticide products.
The problem is these data take time to compile and compare across products and are not in one, easy-to-reference place.
Our researchers are therefore compiling lists of pesticides commonly used by growers, and collaborating with a toxicologist to summarize each product’s ecotoxicological effects. This information will be made readily available to researchers on this site.
The first ten active ingredients being evaluated for ecotoxicological effects are:
- imidacloprid
- dinotefuran
- thiamethoxam
- flurpyradifurone
- cyantraniliprole
- abamectin
- acetamiprid
- bifenthrin
- acephate
- spinosad
Researchers: Drs. James Bethke, JC Chong, Dave Smitley, Cristi Palmer, and Dan Gilrein
States: CA, MI, NJ, NY, SC