Instructions for Preparing a Crop Profile

Background

The Food Quality and Protection Act (FQPA) instructed USDA and EPA to obtain pesticide use and usage data on major and minor crops. Although many pesticides have been reviewed recently, of particular importance are the organo-phosphates, carbamates, and possible carcinogens (B1's and B2's). These classes of pesticides were identified as top priority at EPA for both the tolerance reassessment and the reregistration process. These same pesticides are vital to the production of many of our crops. Because some of these uses may be modified or canceled it is important to identify where we stand now, where we need to be in the future, and what research efforts are needed to get us there as far as pest management practices are concerned. In order to better understand where future research efforts should lead it is necessary first to identify areas of critical need (i.e., those crops or situations where few if any alternative control measures are available to producers).

Crop Profiles are proving to be very useful in helping USDA and EPA obtain this information. Hundreds of these profiles are currently available on the National IPM website (www.ipmcenters.org). It is the intent that profiles provide the production story for a commodity, including current pest management practices, and look at current research activities directed at finding replacement strategies for the pesticides of concern. Crop Profiles should include typical pesticide use information (not simply what appears on pesticide labels).

Template for Crop Profiles

The following outline identifies the required minimum elements that must be included in a crop profile before it will be posted on the website. For consistency and ease of use Crop Profiles should be presented in the following format:

CROP PROFILE FOR (Commodity) IN (State)

Production Facts:

• state's ranking in national production of the commodity

• state's contribution to total US production of that commodity (percent)

• Yearly production numbers (total acres grown; total acres harvested; cash value)

• Production costs on a yearly basis

• Identify percent of crop destined for: fresh market, processing, feed, etc.

Production Regions:

• Define the production regions for the commodity within your state.

Cultural Practices:

• Describe the cultural practices used for producing this commodity within your state (e.g. soil types, irrigation practices, land preparation, planting times, thinning practices, etc.)

• Highlight intrastate or regional differences if they exist.

• Identify worker activities that may occur during the growing season. Include such items as hand weeding, pruning, thinning, spot-treating, mowing, hand-harvesting, hand pollination, etc. This information is very important as EPA and Registrants are looking at Re-Entry Intervals (REIs) as possible risk mitigation tools.

Pest or Pathogen Control - for each of the following four categories of pests or pathogens

Insect/Mite Control:

Weed Control:

Disease Control:

Nematode Control:

follow the format below

• Identify and discuss the category of pests or pathogens of this commodity, including: frequency of occurrence (yearly, sporadic, weather related), the damage they do, percentage of acres infested with the pest (for each growing season or crop cycle), critical timing of control measures, yield losses attributed to each pest, etc.

• Note any regional differences that may occur within your state.

• Chemical Controls: For each pest/pathogen identify the active ingredients that are used to manage that pest, include: chemical name, formulations, percent crop treated, type of application (aerial, ground, chemigation, banded, broadcast, in-furrow etc.), typical application rates, timing (pre-plant, foliar, 5-leaf stage, etc.), typical number of applications per growing season or crop cycle, typical pre-harvest interval, typical reentry intervals, etc.
  • Identify any use of the chemical in IPM programs.

  • Identify any use of the chemical in resistance management programs.

  • Discuss efficacy issues for each active ingredient.

• Alternatives:
• Discuss availability and efficacy issues associated with the alternatives for the pest/pesticide combinations discussed above.

• Cultural Control Practices:
• Identify and discuss any cultural practices (e.g. planting dates, resistant varieties, row spacing) used to manage the pests.

• Biological Controls:
• Discuss any biological control programs that are relevant for the pest/commodity, include pheromone use if applicable.

• Post Harvest Control Practices:
• Discuss any post harvest management practices that are relevant for the pest/commodity; include pre-harvest and/or post harvest practices that are used for post harvest pest management, include storage treatments

Other issues:

• Discuss any export or food processor restrictions that may limit the use of a given active ingredient or management practice.

• Describe on-going research activities that address a possible replacement strategy for the chemical under discussion. If possible discuss time-frame for implementation.

• Discuss any other relevant issues involving pest management practices used on this commodity.

Key Contacts:

• Identify commodity experts within your state. Include their phone number and/or email address

Cite References

Technical Requirements for Crop Profile Documents

• Documents must be in electronic form, either Word 2000 (or later) or WordPerfect 9 (or later). HTML documents are acceptable, provided the files were not created by "save as html" from Word. (This creates formatting that non-Microsoft web browsers cannot read)

• All tables must be true tables, do not use "tabs" to create fields in tables. The web does not understand "tabs", and all of the information must then be re-entered by hand, a long and unnecessary expense.

• Use horizontal text only, even in table headings. Microsoft can convert vertical text, but non-Microsoft browsers cannot read it.

Send to the Northeastern IPM Center Co-Directors:

updated August 2006