Prowl H2O herbicide granted new California labels in citrus and pomegranates

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) recently approved two label changes in California for Prowl H2O herbicide from BASF. The label changes allow California citrus growers to make Prowl H2O applications to their citrus crops up to one day before harvest and also now allow the use of Prowl H2O on California pomegranates.

The previous California citrus label prohibited application within 60 days of harvest. The Prowl H2O citrus label now specifies a one-day pre-harvest interval (PHI), which means that growers will have an even greater window in which to make weed control applications. With the addition of California, Prowl H2O herbicide now has a one-day PHI in all citrus-growing states.

“For California citrus growers, the new one-day PHI for Prowl H2O gives more flexibility when planning weed control programs,” says Jon Sweat, Prowl H2O Market Manager with BASF. “Because weeds emerge in citrus year-round, this change will allow growers to keep groves cleaner and higher yielding—right up until harvest.”

In addition to the new citrus PHI, a second label change now gives California pomegranate growers access to Prowl H2O. The herbicide did not previously have pomegranates listed on its California label, although the CDPR had previously approved it for many other types of bearing fruit trees in the state.

“Other California pome and stone fruit growers already had access to the convenience and performance of this new formulation of Prowl, “ says Sweat. “California pomegranate growers will be pleased to know they now have an additional effective weed control option.”

The California label changes follow last year’s Environmental Protection Agency approval of new food tolerances for pendimethalin, the active ingredient in Prowl H2O. As a result, a variety of new crops were added to the Prowl H2O herbicide label, including citrus fruit (such as oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, lemons and limes), tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts), pome fruits, stone fruits, tomatoes, peppers, alfalfa, wheat, strawberries, carrots, spearmint and peppermint.

The innovative Prowl H2O herbicide formulation maximizes herbicide availability for residual weed control through superior surface stability and reduced binding to field residue. Its patented BASF technology greatly improves pendimethalin performance and handling. As a result, Prowl H2O is ideally suited for growers looking for long-lasting, dependable, broad-spectrum weed control.

For more information about Prowl H2O herbicide and other BASF crop protection products, visit www.agproducts.basf.com.

Publication date: 11/9/2007

There are other, admittedly minor, risks associated with citrus juice. One of them is the absorption of pesticides with which the fruit has been treated. To mention just one such chemical of widespread concern, about 3 percent of Thiabendazole (TBZ) that is sprayed on oranges gets into the juice. The united States is in the process of setting an upper tolerance limit between 10 and 300 parts per billion (ppb) in orange juice.

That reminds me of a conversation I had with a citrus extension specialist, a number of years ago, about the relative safety of thiabendazole in citrus. He had had a conversation with an irate mother, who claimed that the citrus industry was poisoning her children, by using TBZ as a fungicide. Fortunately, he had the actual numbers at his disposal, and he asked her if her kids had ever had hook worm? Yes, they had. He pointed out that TBZ is the standard medication for hook worm in pediatrics, and that a single curative dose for a 6-year-old child was greater than the total TBZ content of 19 rail boxcars of Florida Citrus, if you ate them, peel and all, at a single setting.

This is anecdotal to me -- I have never researched those numbers. But I suspect he's right about it.