FQPA: Economic Impact on Potatoes, Onions, Cabbage and Watermelon Produced in Texas
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E-36 3-00 FQPA: Economic Impact on Potatoes, Onions, Cabbage and Watermelon Produced in Texas Kent D. Hall and Rodney L. Holloway* *Extension Associate, Pesticide Assessment; and Associate Professor and Extension Pesticide Assessment Specialist, The Texas A&M University System. i Figure 1. Map of Texas displaying the major growing areas of the study. ii CONTENTS Executive Summary. .. 1 Introduction .................................................................. 2 Methods ..................................................................... 3 Results...................................................................... 4 Potatoes ............................................................... 5 Insects and Insecticides ............................................. 5 High Plains................................................. 5 Winter Garden.............................................. 6 Lower Rio Grande Valley ..................................... 6 All of Texas................................................ 7 Weeds and Herbicides.............................................. 7 High Plains................................................. 7 Winter Garden.............................................. 7 Lower Rio Grande Valley ..................................... 8 All of Texas................................................ 8 Diseases and Fungicides ............................................ 8 High Plains................................................. 8 Winter Garden.............................................. 9 Lower Rio Grande Valley ..................................... 9 All of Texas............................................... 10 Onions ............................................................... 11 Insects and Insecticides ............................................ 11 High Plains................................................ 11 Winter Garden............................................. 11 Lower Rio Grande Valley .................................... 12 All of Texas............................................... 13 Weeds and Herbicides............................................. 13 High Plains................................................ 13 Winter Garden............................................. 14 Lower Rio Grande Valley .................................... 14 Diseases and Fungicides ........................................... 14 High Plains................................................ 14 Winter Garden............................................. 15 Lower Rio Grande Valley .................................... 16 All of Texas............................................... 16 Cabbage.............................................................. 17 Insects and Insecticides ............................................ 17 High Plains................................................ 17 iii Winter Garden............................................. 18 Lower Rio Grande Valley .................................... 19 All of Texas............................................... 20 Weeds and Herbicides............................................. 20 High Plains................................................ 20 Winter Garden............................................. 20 Lower Rio Grande Valley .................................... 20 Diseases and Fungicides ........................................... 21 High Plains................................................ 21 Winter Garden............................................. 21 Lower Rio Grande Valley .................................... 21 All of Texas............................................... 22 Watermelon........................................................... 22 Insects and Insecticides ............................................ 22 High Plains................................................ 22 Central Texas.............................................. 23 East Texas ................................................ 24 Winter Garden............................................. 25 Lower Rio Grande Valley .................................... 25 All of Texas............................................... 26 Weeds and Herbicides............................................. 27 High Plains................................................ 27 Central Texas.............................................. 27 East Texas ................................................ 27 Winter Garden............................................. 28 Lower Rio Grande Valley .................................... 28 All of Texas............................................... 28 Diseases and Fungicides ........................................... 28 High Plains................................................ 28 Central Texas.............................................. 29 East Texas ................................................ 30 Winter Garden............................................. 30 Lower Rio Grande Valley .................................... 31 All of Texas............................................... 31 All Study Crops Combined ............................................... 32 Insecticides...................................................... 32 Herbicides ...................................................... 32 Fungicides ...................................................... 32 Pesticide Application Rates..................................................... 32 New Pesticides............................................................... 33 Respondents’ Comments ....................................................... 34 Summary ................................................................... 34 iv Comments .................................................................. 35 Tables...................................................................... 36 Data Sources ................................................................ 76 Appendix A: List of FQPA and Non-FQPA Target Pesticides.......................... 77 Appendix B: All Comments from Respondents ..................................... 81 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 1996 Food Quality Protection Act (FPQA) The loss of essential fungicides would be most requires the Environmental Protection Agency devastating to growers. Onion growers in the (EPA) to conduct risk assessments on all Lower Rio Grande Valley could lose up to $7 pesticides by the year 2006. The EPA has stated million without the use of either of two it would begin with the pesticides it considers to fungicides, chlorothalonil (Bravo®) or pose the greatest threat to human health and the maneb/mancozeb (Manex®, Manzate®, environment. These are the carbamates, Dithane®) which are used in rotation to control organophosphates, and those on EPA’s B2 the diseases botrytis, downy mildew and purple carcinogen list. Some pesticide uses could be blotch. A 25 percent increase in farm gate onion withdrawn if the risk is determined to be too prices would be required to offset this loss. High high. A study was conducted at Texas A&M Plains potato growers’ net returns would drop University to estimate the impact of the loss of by nearly 60 percent ($52 million) without the key pesticides used to protect potato, onion, fungicide propamocarb hydrochloride cabbage and watermelon crops in Texas. (Tattoo®). Farm gate potato prices would need Combined, about 103,755 acres of these crops to increase by almost 30 percent to make up the are harvested in Texas annually. Yearly gross difference. Loss of iprodione (Rovral®) to farm receipts from these four crops average $220 onion growers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley million. Texas growers of these crops will lose an or chlorothalonil (Bravo®) to potato growers in estimated $18 million in annual net returns (36 the High Plains would cost more than $3 percent drop) if the fungicides maneb/mancozeb million. Potato growers in the Winter Garden (Manex®, Manzate®, Dithane®) are eliminated. would lose more than $2.5 million if Loss of chlorothalonil (Bravo®) will cost maneb/mancozeb (Manex®, Manzate®, growers an estimated $17 million (34 percent Dithane®) or chlorothalonil (Bravo®) were no decline). If the insecticide diazinon is withdrawn, longer available for disease control. Regional state net returns for these four crops will be net returns of Lower Rio Grande Valley potato reduced by $8.6 million (17 percent net loss); and growers would decline by more than $1 million withdrawal of the herbicide bensulide (Prefar®) annually without the use of maneb/mancozeb will cost growers $4 million (8 percent (Manex®, Manzate®, Dithane®) or reduction). (In this study, net returns is defined as propamocarb hydrochloride (Tattoo®). returns to land, labor, management and capital.) Withdrawal of the insecticide phorate Pest control is critical for abundant production of (Phorate®, Thimet®) would lower net returns high quality crops. This is especially true with by $5 million for potato growers in the Winter vegetable crops, where quality cannot be Garden, and by $1.7 million in the High Plains. compromised. The study found that if the disease Potato prices would need to increase more than downy mildew is present and not controlled in 30 percent in the Winter Garden and nearly 10 onions, cabbage or watermelon, yields could percent in the High Plains to cancel this loss. decrease by as much as 64 percent. Aphids in Watermelon growers in East Texas would suffer watermelon, cabbage or potatoes could reduce declines of $3.2 million, $2.8 million and $2.8 yields by 48 percent and whiteflies could reduce million in regional net returns,