The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released proposed changes to the agency’s September 2020 atrazine interim decision. The Scoop says the proposal includes five changes to atrazine labels to lower runoff from farm fields.
The agency wants to prohibit application when soils are saturated or above field capacity. The proposal would also prohibit application within 48 hours of a forecasted rain or storm event. The agency also wants to prohibit aerial applications of all formulations. The proposal would restrict annual application rates to two pounds of active ingredient or less per acre per year or less for applications to sorghum, field corn, and sweet corn.
An additional “picklist” to labels requires growers to select a combination of application rate reductions and-or runoff control measures when using atrazine in certain watersheds. The EPA says the picklist method is intended to help growers select runoff control practices that are the least burdensome to them.
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)