TITLE PAGE: VOLUME 1 OF 1 CROP GROUPING PETITION – STONE FRUIT GROUP 12, TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO 40 CFR 180.41 (c) (12) AND 180.1 (h) (Apricot; Apricot, Japanese; Capulin; Cherry, black; Cherry, Nanking; Cherry, sweet; Cherry, tart; Choke cherry; Jujube; Klamath plum; Nectarine; Peach; Plum; Plum, American; Plum, beach; Plum, cherry; Plum, Chickasaw; Plum, Damson; Plum, Japanese; Plumcot; Prune (fresh); Sloe) AUTHOR HONG CHEN, Ph.D. INTERREGIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT NO. 4 RUTGERS UNIVERSITY 500 COLLEGE ROAD EAST, 201W PRINCETON, NJ 08540 New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Publication No. A - 27200-01-07, Supported by State, U.S. Hatch Act and other U.S. Department of Agriculture funds. IR-4 Stone Fruit Crop Group Petition_PR#09896 Page 1 of 304 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE TITLE PAGE: VOLUME 1 OF 1 ....................................................................................................1 TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................2 TECHNICAL AMENDMENT: .......................................................................................................3 PROPOSED AMENDMENT ......................................................................................... 3 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................ 4 CULTURAL INFORMATION ...................................................................................... 5 PEST PROBLEMS ......................................................................................................... 5 SUGGESTED INTERIM TOLERANCE EXPRESSION.............................................. 6 Table 1. Tolerances established on Stone Fruits Crop Group (ppm).............................. 8 Table 2. Major Stone Fruits Production in 2005 .......................................................... 11 Table 3. Crop Group Comparison:................................................................................ 12 ATTACHMENT 1. SYMPOSIUM PROPOSAL ..........................................................................14 ATTACHMENT 2. COMMODITY MONOGRAPHS..................................................................18 ATTACHMENT 3. ADDITIONAL REFERENCES.....................................................................50 IR-4 Stone Fruit Crop Group Petition_PR#09896 Page 2 TECHNICAL AMENDMENT: 40 CFR 180.41 (c) (11), Crop Group 12, Stone Fruits Group IR-4 Project and the International Crop Grouping Consulting Committee (ICGCC) propose an amendment to 40 CFR 180.41 (c) (12) Crop Group 12, Stone Fruits Group, and 40 CFR 180.1 (h) information relevant to stone fruits. PROPOSED AMENDMENT 1. Amend the existing crop group in 40 CFR 180.41 (c) (12) that consists of following 11 commodity entries: 1. Apricot, Prunus armeniaca L. (Rosaceae) 2. Cherry, sweet, Prunus avium (L.) L. (Rosaceae) 3. Cherry, tart, Prunus cerasus L. (Rosaceae) 4. Nectarine, P. persica var. nucipersica (Suckow) C.K. Schneid. (Rosaceae) 5. Peach, Prunus persica (L.) Batsch var. persica (Rosaceae) 6. Plum, Prunus domestica L. ssp. domestica (Rosaceae) 7. Plum, Chickasaw, Prunus angustifolia Marshall (Rosaceae) 8. Plum, Damson, Prunus domestica spp. insititia (L.) C.K. Schneid. (Rosaceae) 9. Plum, Japanese, Prunus salicina Lindl. (Rosaceae) 10. Plumcot, Prunus domestica L. x P. armeniaca L. (Rosaceae) 11. Prune (fresh), Prunus domestica L. ssp. Domestica (Rosaceae) To an expanded crop group that consists of following 22 commodity entries: 1. Apricot, Prunus armeniaca L. (Rosaceae) 2. Apricot, Japanese, Prunus mume Siebold & Zucc. (Rosaceae) 3. Capulin, Prunus serotina Ehrh. subsp. capuli (Cav.) McVaugh (Rosaceae) 4. Cherry, black, Prunus serotina Ehrh. ssp. serotina (Rosaceae) 5. Cherry, Nanking, Prunus tomentosa Thunb. (Rosaceae) 6. Cherry, sweet, Prunus avium (L.) L. (Rosaceae) 7. Cherry/tart, Prunus cerasus L. (Rosaceae) 8. Choke cherry, Prunus virginiana (Rosaceae) 9. Jujube, Ziziphus jujube Mill. (Rhamnaceae) 10. Klamath plum, Prunus subcordata Benth. (Rosaceae) 11. Nectarine, Prunus persica var. nucipersica (Suckow) C.K. Schneid. (Rosaceae) 12. Peach, Prunus persica (L.) Batsch var. persica (Rosaceae) 13. Plum, Prunus domestica L. ssp. domestica (Rosaceae) 14. Plum, American, Prunus americana Marshall (Rosaceae) 15. Plum, beach, Prunus maritime Marshall (Rosaceae) 16. Plum, cherry, Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. (Rosaceae) 17. Plum, Chickasaw, Prunus angustifolia Marshall (Rosaceae) 18. Plum, Damson, Prunus domestica spp. insititia (L.) C.K. Schneid. (Rosaceae) 19. Plum, Japanese, Prunus salicina Lindl. (Rosaceae) 20. Plumcot, Prunus domestica L. x P. armeniaca L. (Rosaceae) 21. Prune (fresh), Prunus domestica L. ssp. Domestica (Rosaceae) 22. Sloe, Prunus spinosa L. (Rosaceae) And all edible varieties and/or hybrids of Prunus species and Ziziphus species IR-4 Stone Fruit Crop Group Petition_PR#09896 Page 3 2. The following commodities, Sweet or tart cherry, peach, and plum or fresh prune, remain as representative commodities for the expanded group. 3. Adding the following two crop subgroups: 1). Subgroup 12-A: Peach subgroup. Representative crop: Peach, and Plum or Fresh prune. Sixteen commodities included in this subgroup are: Apricot; Apricot, Japanese; Jujube; Klamath plum; Nectarine; Peach; Plum; Plum, American; Plum, beach; Plum, cherry; Plum, Chickasaw; Plum, Damson; Plum, Japanese; Plumcot; Prune (fresh), and Sloe. 2). Subgroup 12-B: Cherry subgroup. Representative crop: Sweet or Tart cherry. Six commodities included in this subgroup are: Capulin; Cherry, black; Cherry, Nanking; Cherry, sweet; Cherry, tart; and Choke cherry. 4. Deleting two Definitions, Cherries (sour cherries and sweet cherries) and Peaches (peaches, nectarines) from 40 CFR 180.1 (h). BACKGROUND The current Crop Group 12, Stone Fruits group published in 40 CFR 180.41 includes 11 commodity entries in the botanical family of Rosaceae. Sweet or tart cherry, peach, and plum or fresh prune were selected as representative commodities for this group. There have been many group tolerances established on stone fruits crop group (Table 1) and many of those were based on the residue data generated from the representative crops. Since this crop group was established in 1995, more species and varieties of stone fruits have become popular in commercial production or trade. There are also some “orphan” crops that are not in the Rosaceae family but contain a single seed with a hard shell, such as Jujube. The morphology of this crop resembles some stone fruits such as cherries and small varieties of plums as it has large canopies shading the small sized fruits, and should be similar to the stone fruits in terms of residue exposure. Also according to phylogenetic studies there is a systematic affinity between Jujube (Rhamnaceae family) and “real Stone Fruit” (Rosaceae family) (Turchetti & SISCO 2006a). Adding this commodity in the EPA stone fruits group will benefit the growers for crop protection. Some other species or varieties of stone fruits are also added in the proposed stone fruits group, including the Japanese apricot. The Japanese apricot is a popular fruit in Asia, and its commercial products such as preserved Ume or Ume juice have been sold in American markets. In the Japanese crop grouping system, Japanese apricot (ume) is grouped with Japanese plum (sumomo) and apricot (andzu) as "small sized stone fruits" (NAGASAWA 2006d). This petition proposes “Stone fruits Group 12” with 22 commodity entries, among these 21 are in the botanical family of Rosaceae and one in the family of Rhamnaceae. Compared with many other crop groups, most commodities in this group are closely related and all the commodities share similar morphological and cultural characteristics. Commodities and their varieties and/or hybrids proposed in this group include all the commodities in the Codex Classification of Stone Fruits Group and EU Crop List of Stone Fruits Group. Representative commodities in the existing EPA Stone Fruits Group, Sweet or tart cherry, peach, and plum or fresh prune have been recommended by the Workgroup to be representative commodities for the proposed new group. The new Stone Fruits Group and the representative commodities proposed in this petition would facilitate the harmonization of the US and the Codex crop classification systems. Currently there are two Commodity Definitions for stone fruits published in 40 CFR 180(1) (h), Cherries and Peaches. To facilitate residue data generation and tolerance IR-4 Stone Fruit Crop Group Petition_PR#09896 Page 4 establishment on small and large varieties of stone fruits, two subgroups are proposed in this proposal for the stone fruits group, as peach subgroup and cherry subgroup. Peach subgroup includes medium to large fruits such as peaches, nectarines, plums, and jujube; and cherry subgroup includes small fruits, the cherries. By proposing the two subgroups the author recommends to delete the two commodity definitions from the regulation. The original Crop Group 12 proposal was generated at the USDA/IR-4 Crop Grouping Symposium in Washington, DC, October 2002 by Workgroup 4 Chaired by Van Starner of IR-4 and Co-Chaired by Craig Hunter, Rick Loranger, Rick Melnicoe, Chris Olinger, and John Wise (see Attachment 1, Symposium proposal). It was further discussed and developed within the stone fruits Workgroup of the ICGCC. This workgroup consists of over 100 crop or regulatory experts from the US, NAFTA, EU, Asia, Middle East, and Latin America regions representing