Combined seed treatment helps protect NZ crops

Combined seed treatment helps protect NZ crops

A new version of an insecticide used to help protect corn, wheat grass and brassica crops has been approved by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
Bayer New Zealand’s Poncho Votivo is a seed treatment that will help control pests such as Argentine stem weevil, black beetle, greasy cutworm and parasitic nematodes – that can attack these crops.

It’s a reformulation of an already approved insecticide called Poncho and is applied to seeds at a treatment plant before they’re sown.

“What’s different about Poncho Votivo is that it contains a lower concentration of the neonicotinoid clothianidin, alongside a soil-dwelling micro-organism called Bacillus firmus. This is found naturally in New Zealand soil but has not been used before as an active ingredient in an insecticide,” says Ray McMillan, EPA’s Acting General Manager of Hazardous Substances and New Organisms.

After weighing the risks and benefits of Poncho Votivo following a public hearing in December 2015, the EPA’s decision-making committee approved its use and set specific controls to manage risks to people and our environment. It means those applying the insecticide must wear protective clothing and adhere to specific restrictions related to the rate, method and timing of application.

Mr McMillan adds: “This combined insecticide has benefits for the New Zealand environment because it treats two types of pest at once, and farmers are less likely to need a separate soil treatment.”

• View decision details and information

• Read more about neonicotinoids

What are the benefits of Poncho Votivo?
Poncho Votivo can help improve crop yields for growers and has the same benefit profile as the already approved Poncho, with additional benefits derived from the inclusion of Baccillus firmus as an active ingredient. It has fewer toxicological hazards and a lower environmental hazard classifications than other insecticides, and can therefore be considered a safer alternative to those products.

What controls have been set?
The decision-making committee sets controls to manage risks to human health and the environment. The controls include the wearing of personal protective equipment by workers at the seed treatment plant and by farmers using the treated seeds, applying film coating (to minimise dust drift) and dye to the treated seeds, covering treated seeds with soil so they aren’t accessible to birds, managing the storage and disposal of excess treated seeds, restrictions on the application rate, method and interval and label statements.

Neonicotinoids are banned in the EU. Why are we approving them here?The widely reported statement that the EU has banned neonicotinoids is incorrect. The EU has restricted the use of three neonicotinoids – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametroxam – from December 2013. These neonicotinoids are restricted for use in seed treatment, soil application, foliar treatment on plants attractive to bees, and cereals in flower. These substances can still be used after flowering in open air and in greenhouses at any times.

Why isn’t the EPA reassessing neonicotinoids?
This was an application to import the substance Poncho Votivo, which contains the neonicotinoid clothianidin, rather than the wider issue of neonicotinoids.

The EPA’s role is to decide on applications under the HSNO Act to import and manufacture hazardous substances. We put controls in place to manage the risks of hazardous substances to safeguard people and the environment.

Clothianidin is already approved as an active ingredient in New Zealand. Was this a rubber stamping exercise?
The EPA has done a full quantitative risk assessment for clothianidin for Poncho Votivo. This shows that the risks can be managed by controls.

Other seed treatment formulations have previously been approved that contain similar or higher concentrations of clothianidin than Poncho Votivo. A version of this insecticide (Poncho) is already approved for use in New Zealand.

On a per hectare basis, the amount of clothianidin applied to an area via seeds treated with Poncho Votivo is less than the amount of insecticide that would need to be applied as a foliar spray or applied as a soil treatment to manage the same pests. For instance, the maximum amount of clothianidin (the active ingredient, ai) applied to an area via seeds treated with Poncho Votivo is 90 g(ai)/ha, compared to other insecticides used to treat the same pests, including: imidacloprid (130.5 g(ai)/ha), furathiocarb (300 g(ai)/ha), terbufos (1,500 g(ai)/ha) and diazinon (2,400 g(ai)/ha).

In June 2014, the EPA declined an application for a seed treatment that contained a neonicotinoid where the applicant was unable to demonstrate that it could be used in a way sufficient to protect people and the environment.

What happened to the new information presented at the hearing?
New information was presented at the hearing, which the decision-making committee adjourned to evaluate and assess, along with the EPA staff report and information from the submitters and applicant

What is the risk to bees from this neonicotinoid?
The EPA risk assessment indicated that the risks to bees from the neonicotinoid insecticide clothianidin were well below the level of concern.

The assessment looked at the mechanism by which bees would be exposed to clothianidin on treated seeds. The substance on the seed must be absorbed by the growing plant and distributed within the plant’s tissues to the nectar and/or pollen, which is then accessed by bees. For bees to be exposed, plants grown from the treated seed must be allowed to flower, which is not the case with all commercial crops.

Clothianidin remains present in the plant, grown from the treated seed, for several weeks after germination, giving the plant a longer period of protection compared to other seed treatment active ingredients. This reduces the need for later soil treatments and at least one foliar treatment can be removed from the recommended spray program when Poncho Votivo is used.

Neonicotinoids have been implicated in colony collapse disorder and are harmful to bees. Why is the EPA approving another one?
Bee colony collapse has not been identified in New Zealand. It is a multi-factor issue, caused by a combination of disease (eg varroa mite), poor nutrition, habitat changes/loss, climate changes and exposure to various pesticides.

Is there a risk to birds from eating the seeds?
Poncho Votivo could present a risk to birds that consume treated seeds in some circumstances, but this risk can be managed with controls that prevent birds accessing treated seeds. The EPA has applied controls that require seeds to be completely covered with soil when sown, and require treated seeds to be stored in such a way that they cannot be accessed by birds

Isn’t introducing Bacillus firmus just introducing another potential risk?
Bacillus firmus is already present in New Zealand but is not approved for use as an ingredient in a pesticide. It has a very low environmental risk and may be able to replace other nematicides that present greater risks to the environment. The EPA risk assessment showed no impact on earthworms and other soil organisms as the active ingredients are not mobile in the soil. The committee considered that the risk to non-target soil organisms would be negligible.

How many submissions were received for this application?
Nineteen submissions were received in response to public notification and three submitters were heard in person. Three submitters were either neutral or did not indicate whether they supported or opposed the application. All other submitters opposed the application.

A hearing on this application was held on 3 December 2015, in Wellington. New information was presented at the hearing, which the committee adjourned to consider.

ENDS

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