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EPA PROPOSES THAT PLANT GROWTH REGULATOR BE USED ON SMALL GRAINS
May 1, 2023
Agri-Pulse reports:
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to register the first food uses of chlormequat chloride on barley, oat, triticale, and wheat, after finding no dietary or ecological "risks of concern."
The pesticide is currently registered for use as a plant growth regulator in ornamentals. It blocks hormones that stimulate growth prior to bloom. In small grains, it "decreases the height of the grain plant stem, resulting in reduced lodging and potentially increased grain yield," EPA said.
Mitigation measures are also being proposed, such as restricted entry for 24 hours into areas that have been sprayed.
The Environmental Working Group criticized the proposal, saying animal studies have shown the chemical is a "reproductive and developmental toxicant, and exhibits neurotoxicity, which are not accounted for in the current EPA risk assessment."
EPA's human health assessment cited "evidence of potential neurotoxicity" in some studies, but said "there is a low degree of concern for the potential neurotoxic effects of chlormequat chloride" in part because clear levels were identified where there were no observable adverse effects.
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