A Pesticide Decision Making Guide to Protect Pollinators in Tree Fruit Orchards
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A Pesticide Decision Making Guide to Protect Pollinators in Tree Fruit Orchards 2020 Edition Maria van Dyke, Emma Mullen, Dan Wixted, and Scott McArt Notes Notes Pollinator Network at Cornell, 2020 Cornell University, Department Of Entomology Contents Choosing lower-risk pesticides for pollinators in New York orchards 1 How to use this guide 3 Understanding the terms in this guide 4 EPA Pesticide toxicity standards 4 Synergistic Interactions 4 Systemic Pesticides 4 Adjuvants and/or inert ingredients 5 Tying it all together: adopting an Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management (IPPM) approach 5 IPPM: Putting the “pollinator” in IPM: 6 Table 1: Product formulations and their active ingredients 7 Table 2: Pesticide synergies and acute, chronic, and sublethal toxicities for honey bees and other pollinators 9 Part A: Fungicides including antibiotics for use on tree fruit __________________________ 9 Part B: Mixtures of fundicides and insecticides for use on tree fruit ____________________ 15 Part C: Insecticides including insect growth regulators for use on tree fruit ______________ 16 Part D: Adjuvants, stickers, inert ingredients, and registered synergists used in formulations_ 23 Literature cited 24 Appendix A: Pollination contract _______________________________________________________ 29 Acknowledgments This research and development of this guide was supported by the New York State Environmental Protection Fund and New York Farm Viability Institute grant FOC 17-001. The expert advice and consultation provided by Dan Wixted of the Cornell Pesticide Management Education Program was supported by the Crop Protection and Pest Management Extension Implementation Program [grant no. 2017-70006-27142/project accession no. 1014000] from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Choosing lower-risk pesticides for pollinators in New York orchards Growers recognize the vital role of pollination and understand that managing pests while protecting pollinators can be a balancing act. Both components are essential for a successful harvest, yet they can sometimes be in conflict with one another. Pollinators (mostly bees) are busy pollinating flower blossoms at the same time growers need to be managing specific pests and diseases. The impact of pesticides on pollinator health has been an active area of research in recent years, including work conducted in agricultural fields and urban and natural habitats, including New York apple orchards. The results from this research are clear: Some pesticides can be a threat to pollinators, but there is variation in risk, due in part to grower management practices. This guide summarizes impacts of pesticides on bees in a clear, concise, easy-to-use format. Our goal is to provide information to growers so they can develop an effective Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management program. esticide risk to pollinators comes from a combination of exposure and effects. Pollinators may be exposed to pesticides through direct sprays, puddle water, guttation droplets, extrafloral nectaries, pollen and nectar from treated crops and surrounding wildflowers, and residues that accumulate in soil (for ground nesting bees) and in nesting materials (for example leaves for leaf-cutter bees). Pesticides have an effect on pollinators if exposure is sufficient to cause lethal or sub-lethal impacts. Pesticides can directly C Kitchen kill pollinators, reduce offspring © production, or have more subtle effects A native Andrena species grooming cherry pollen from its face. on body size or behavior. Recently, an understanding of the interactions between pesticides on bee health has brought focus on active ingredients that synergize, meaning that the combined toxicity is greater than the sum of the toxicity of each pesticide applied separately. Pesticide risk studies find that synergies among different pesticides can increase the toxicity of some pesticides up to 1000-fold. While some synergies are intentional and make a higher efficacy formulation for the pests they are meant to control, many synergies can lead to unintentional combined effects that can substantially increase pesticide risk to bees. These synergies are beyond the scope of EPA label guidelines, which is why we chose to share the information in this guide. In summary, 47 of the 140 chemicals listed in this guide have been shown to synergize with other agrochemicals in tank mixes, formulations, or on plant or soil surfaces. These chemicals include some fungicides, neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, carbamates, organophosphates, piperonyl butoxide and some adjuvants. Synergisms are noted with a in Table 2, ‘Synergies and acute, chronic, and sublethal toxicities for honey bees and other pollinators.’ 1 This guide summarizes reported pesticide effects as of April 2020. The guide presents the most up-to- date information about the impacts of the fungicides, insecticides, microbicides, and growth regulators on bees that pollinate tree fruits. New York is home to 416 species of bees, and over 120 species are known to be important for NYS apple pollination, with several of those species also visiting other tree fruits. It is well documented that each bee Honey bee species can respond differently to active ingredients. KL However, there are so many bee species, each © differing with respect to physiology, sociality, nesting habits, foraging habits, and ability to tolerate pesticides, that it is unrealistic to determine how every use of every pesticide will affect each species. Therefore, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) generally uses acute toxicity to honey bees (Apis mellifera) as a proxy for the potential adverse effects of a pesticide on bees in general, but will at times take studies on other bee species into account Mining bee KL as appropriate. In addition to presenting these EPA © toxicity ratings, this guide specifically highlights the chemical combinations that produce synergistic effects on bee pollinators. Furthermore, we expand on EPA standards to include reports of sublethal effects in honey bees as well as acute, chronic, and sublethal effects on bumble bee and solitary bee species. Chronic and sublethal effects include reduced reproduction, size, immunity, and negative effects on bee behaviors such as cleaning, nesting, Cellophane bee foraging, and flying (Table 2, last column). C Kitchen © This guide is intended to be used as a decision-making tool. The primary goal of this guide is to help growers understand and compare the acute toxicity and synergistic effects of different pesticides on pollinators. The majority of registered products for New York orchard management are included and EPA ratings of “highly toxic”, “moderately toxic”, or “practically non-toxic” are noted by color coding in Table 2. In addition information on synergies, sublethal effects and effects on bee species other than honey bees are noted in the last column. If growers are in a situation where multiple chemical tools could be effective against pests, then this guide will allow them to easily compare the toxicity ratings of various pesticides to help them choose a product that poses minimal risk to bees. The Pollinator Network @ Cornell will update this guide as new research is published. This guide is intended to be a companion to the Cornell Pest Management Guide for Commercial Tree Fruit Production. 2 How to use this guide This guide consists of a series of tables that summarize all the known products and their associated active ingredients used in orchard production. It also includes miticides that are used by beekeepers in New York. Growers and applicators can most effectively use this guide by following three steps: 1. Locate specific pesticide products in Table 1 to determine the product’s active ingredients. 2. Go to Table 2 to find active ingredient toxicity ratings and known synergisms. 3. When possible, choose to apply products that are effective on target pests but least toxic to bees and do not synergize with other products used. Table 1: Product formulations and their active ingredients This table lists most but not all registered vegetable pesticides, in New York, alphabetically by product name so it’s easy to find the associated active ingredient. If a product name is not in this product formulation list, please be aware that the active ingredient is always listed on the product label. Information on toxicity and synergy is organized by active ingredient in Table 2. ©Emma Mullen Table 2: Synergies and acute, chronic, and sublethal toxicities for honey bees and other bee species This table lists all the active ingredients alphabetically, noting EPA honey bee guidelines for acute contact toxicity ratings, ability to synergize, chronic effects, sublethal effects, and/or impacts to non- honey bee pollinators. Pesticides are grouped in this table according to class: A: Fungicides, antibiotics, and inert ingredients, B: Mixtures of insecticides and fungicides, C: Insecticides including insect growth regulators, and D: Synergists, adjuvants and inert ingredients. In the 3rd to 5th columns of this table, the EPA’s acute toxicity ratings for adult honey bees are reported, and the symbol is added if a synergy has been documented. Notes on the active ingredients that cause synergistic interactions, as well as information on sublethal impacts or impacts to other bee species are outlined in the 6th column. Timing of spray is typically noted on the label. Applicators are to use the most conservative timing when a potentially synergistic combination must be used.