Major cropping chemical gets reprieve

One of the major cropping chemicals appears to have escaped a ban – read what the APVMA has said about the farming tool.

A key farming chemical has passed a major hurdle to allow its continued use.

A technical review of diquat was released this week by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority and while tweaks are recommended, it’s likely its continued use would be approved for broadacre cropping.

The APVMA said it was proposing to “vary and affirm paraquat and diquat chemical product registrations”, update label use and in two cases, cancel registrations which do not meet criteria for safety, trade or labelling.

The 181-page draft technical report said the APVMA “should be satisfied that the continued approval of the use patterns as currently described would not pose an undue hazard to the safety of people consuming anything containing its residues … nor an undue risk to international trade”.

But the news was not so good for rice growers, with the report stating there was not enough reliable data for the crop to assess residue levels when used for pre-harvest desiccation, so its use for this reason was no longer supported in the long term.

There was also a recommendation that the use of diquat on cotton no longer be continued.

Public consultation on diquat and paraquat closes on October 29.