Pulse Canada and Keep it Clean! – Summer (June) 2021 Pulse Beat
KEEP IT CLEAN provides annual updates as part of its effort to ensure growers and their advisors are aware of the impact certain crop protection products can have on market access. Keep it Clean’s purpose is to help growers protect their investment and ensure their crops meet the requirements of Canada’s domestic and export customers. There are three updates to the 2021 Keep it Clean Product Advisory for pulse crops:
DIQUAT
Maximum residue limit (MRL) concerns for diquat (e.g., Reglone) have been effectively resolved, removing it from the advisory for the 2021 growing season. In the fall of 2020, the US EPA established tolerances for diquat on pulse crops that are now harmonized with Canada’s MRLs for pulse crops at 0.9 ppm.
CHLOROTHALONIL
Chickpea growers should be on alert when using the fungicide chlorothalonil (e.g., Bravo ZN) as MRLs for all pulse crops will be revoked in the EU and established at the default level of 0.01 ppm later this growing season. Chickpeas treated with chlorothalonil may pose a marketing risk if exported to the EU, and it is recommended that growers consult with their grain buyer before using this product this growing season. There are no major marketing concerns for chlorothalonil applied to peas or lentils.
GLYPHOSATE
Growers will notice the use of a new notation within the 2021 advisory. An “MA” notation was introduced this year to bring further transparency to when a classification is made due to a MRL-related trade issue or a potential market acceptance trade issue. The MA notation has been applied to pre-harvest glyphosate use for peas and lentils as MRLs are established in all major markets; however, potential marketing risks may still be present due to the scrutiny of glyphosate within the global market place.
UPDATES FOR NON-PULSE CROPS
Growers can also find important information for cereal and canola crops within the Keep it Clean Product Advisory. For cereal crops, growers should be aware of potential marketing risks associated with the use pre-harvest glyphosate, saflufenacil and chlormequat. For canola, growers can now treat their crop with metconazole (e.g., Quash) and quinclorac.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MITIGATE RISK?
With Canada exporting 85 percent of its pulses, the success of our industry depends on maintaining access to key international markets. To protect your investment and ensure your crops are acceptable in all markets, use acceptable pesticides only — those that are registered for use in Canada and won’t create a trade concern, and always read and follow the crop protection product label.
Improper or off-label use of crop protection products may result in unacceptable residue levels that can jeopardize a producer’s marketing options, as well as market access for all Canadian crops.
Consult the Keep it Clean Product Advisory, which outlines what crop protection products may restrict marketing options due to missing or misaligned MRLs in our export markets or market acceptance issues by certain buyers.
THE WORK BEHIND KEEP IT CLEAN
Pulse Canada, the Canola Council of Canada and Cereals Canada continuously monitor potential marketing risks in major export markets and will communicate these risks back to the value chain while effort is taken to address the risks. We also encourage all life science companies to commercialize new crop protection products responsibly, which means making sure that any market access issues or other potential problems have been addressed before a new product is introduced or before a new use is added to the label.
The process of responsible commercialization is voluntary and relies on a strong commitment to open communication and co-operation throughout the value chain. With rare exceptions, co-operation throughout the industry has been very strong. In
addition, we are always working with the Canadian government and industry partners to encourage other trading nations to adopt more consistent review processes and import rules.
More information at keepingitclean.ca or follow @KICCanada on Twitter.
If you have any questions on the program, please reach out to Greg Bartley, Director of Crop Protection and Crop Quality with Pulse Canada at GBartley@pulsecanada.com
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