Specialty crops include high value fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs, and spices, which are many of the crops we eat, and non-food ornamental crops plants that enhance our environment. Like major row crops, these crops are vulnerable to destructive pests. Conventional chemical pesticides and biopesticides are needed to manage pest damage. The United States government has made a substantial investment by establishing the IR-4 Project to facilitate the registration of crop protection products for specialty crops and other minor uses. IR-4 has severed as a model and provided leadership in the development of other minor use programs in both developed and developing countries. Harmonization activities include leadership in organizing the First and Second Global Minor Use Summits, running capacity development educational programs in Asia, Africa, and Latin America where participants are taught how to set priorities, manage supervised field trials and laboratory analysis, proposing modifications to Codex Crop Groups, and introducing the concept of representative crops, testing the concept of global zoning, managing a �pilot� global residue study, and when appropriate, sharing existing residue data cooperative partners. IR-4 has extensive cooperation with Canada on joint residue data development and review by each other's regulatory authorities resulting in harmonized labels. It is the ultimate goal of these minor use programs to work cooperatively to develop globally data to support a harmonized MRLs and registrations to address these important specialty crop pest management needs.

MRL harmonization for specialty crops: A global vision

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.