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WASHINGTON — The first pesticide options for application on industrial hemp recently were approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA OK’d nine biopesticides and one conventional pesticide for the crop. They are products from Agro Logistic Systems, Marrone Bio Innovations and Hawthorne Hydroponics.
Biopesticides are derived from biological ingredients, while conventional products are typically derived from chemical substances.
Registered biopesticides are:
• Agro Logistic Systems Inc. Active ingredients: azadirachtin and neem oil. Product type: insecticide, miticide, fungicide and nematicide.
• Agro Logistic Systems Inc. Active ingredients: azadirachtin and neem oil. Product type: insecticide, miticide, fungicide and nematicide.
• Agro Logistic Systems Inc. Active ingredients: azadirachtin and neem oil. Product type: insecticide, miticide, fungicide and nematicide.
• Agro Logistic Systems Inc. Active ingredient: neem oil. Product type: insecticide, miticide and fungicide.
• Marrone Bio Innovations. Active ingredient: extract of reynoutria sachalinensis. Product type: fungicide and fungistat.
• Marrone Bio Innovations. Active ingredient: bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain F727. Product type: fungicide.
• Hawthorne Hydroponics LLC. Active ingredients: soybean oil, garlic oil and capsicum oleoresin extract. Product type: insecticide and repellent.
• Hawthorne Hydroponics LLC. Active ingredient: bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain D747. Product type: fungicide and bactericide.
• Hawthorne Hydroponics LLC. Active ingredient: azadirachtin. Product type: insect growth regulator and repellent.
Conventional pesticide: Hawthorne Hydroponics LLC. Active ingredient: potassium salts of fatty acids. Product type: insecticide, fungicide and miticide.
These approvals were made possible by the 2018 farm bill, which removed hemp-derived products from Schedule I status under the Controlled Substances Act. The EPA cannot approve pesticide products for marijuana, which is still listed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance.
The approval was made under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act in time for the 2020 growing season.
Further Research
Phillip Alberti, University of Illinois Extension commercial agriculture educator, who has been conducting industrial hemp research, welcomed the EPA move, but noted further research is needed.
“While we do not have any research supporting the efficacy, rates, or action thresholds of these biopesticides for use on hemp in Illinois, it is a good first step. Importantly, research regarding which pests and diseases are of greatest concern, as well as which products are best suited to control them in this region are non-existent as this is a new crop,” Alberti said.
“With that being said, producers are going to have some biological control options to experiment with moving forward, a luxury that growers in Illinois were not afforded in 2019.”
“With common-sense actions, we are protecting the health of our nation and ensuring that crops such as corn, sorghum, sugar cane and hemp can be protected against a broad spectrum of weeds and pests,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.
“Under the Trump administration, the EPA is committed to providing much-needed certainty to farmers and ranchers across the country who rely on crop protection tools to ensure a global supply of products, while driving economic growth in agricultural communities across America.”
“EPA’s actions today help support American farmers’ efforts to grow hemp just in time for the first growing season,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
“NASDA thanks the EPA for taking the first step to provide crop protection for U.S. hemp farmers. Collaboration will be key as we work to provide a full tool box of solutions, including biopesticides, to the emerging hemp industry,” said National Association of State Departments of Agriculture CEO Barbara P. Glenn.