January 2001
Methyl bromide's reduction underscores need for research into alternatives
Solarization and broccoli residue are being tested as alternatives to methyl bromide in fields planted to callas and other crops. (photo by Golden State Bulb Growers)
DAVIS -- The search for alternatives to the agricultural fumigant methyl bromide takes on renewed urgency this month as the federal Environmental Protection Agency, in accordance with the U.S. Clean Air Act, begins enforcing a 50 percent reduction in the chemical's use from benchmark levels a decade ago.
One of the places farmers and others are looking for answers is the University of California's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP), a statewide UC program that is funding a number of projects studying methyl bromide alternatives. The chemical is used as a preplant fumigant to eliminate nematodes, weeds and pathogens and as a postharvest treatment in many agricultural production systems in California
"What began in 1999 with a nationwide 25 percent reduction in methyl bromide production and importation over 1991 levels will presumably become a 100 percent reduction in 2005," says SAREP Director Sean L. Swezey. "Alternatives to this significant ozone depleter are the focus of seven research projects we've funded for strawberries, grapes and orchard crops."
Each of these projects has been funded by a special allocation from the California legislature (AB 1998 sponsored by Assemblymember Helen Thomson, D-Yolo County). The grant funds are distributed through the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and administered by SAREP. One of the projects also receives funding from the Biologically Integrated Farming Systems (BIFS) agricultural chemical use/risk reduction program, another state-funded effort.
According to DPR's pesticide use reports, more than six million pounds of methyl bromide were applied to strawberries, nursery flowers and floral greens, grapes, almonds, nectarines, peaches, plums and prunes in 1998. Researchers are currently midway through these three-year projects. The projects, along with principal investigators and funding amounts, include:
*Containerized Strawberry Transplants as a Replacement for Methyl Bromide Soil Fumigation in California Strawberry Nurseries; Kirk Larson, UC Davis pomology department; $107,969.
*Alternatives to Methyl Bromide for Control of Soil-borne Fungi, Bacteria and Weeds in Coastal Ornamental Crops; James MacDonald, UC Davis plant pathology department; Clyde Elmore, UC Davis vegetable crops/weed science department; Steve Tjosvold, UC Cooperative Extension, Watsonville; $76,228.
*Acetaldehyde and Carbon Dioxide Fumigation for Postharvest Control of Insects on Strawberry Fruit; Elizabeth Mitcham, UC Davis pomology department; $75,986.
*Development of Grape Rootstocks with Multiple Nematode Resistance; Howard Ferris, UC Davis nematology department; Andrew Walker, UC Davis viticulture and enology department; $100,744.
*Microbiological Improvement of Root Health, Growth, and Yield of Strawberry; John Duniway, UC Davis plant pathology department; $118,780.
*Cultural Control and Etiology of Replant Disorder of Prunus spp.; Greg Browne, USDA-Agricultural Research Service/UC Davis plant pathology department; Russ Bulluck, UC Davis plant pathology department; Tom Trout, USDA-Agricultural Research Service/Fresno; $150,638.
In addition, $160,000 over three years is being used to support a Monterey Bay region on-farm demonstration project examining biointensive production alternatives to methyl bromide in strawberries. Called "BASIS" (Biological Agriculture Systems in Strawberries), this project is led by Carolee Bull, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, in Salinas. In 1998 the state legislature earmarked $1 million for a new grants program to develop and extend alternatives to methyl bromide.
For more information and digital images, check the newsletter section of SAREP's Web site at http://sarep.ucdavis.edu/newsltr/. Click on both Fall 2000 (Vol. 12 No. 3) for details of the ornamentals, grapes or orchard projects and Summer 2000 (Vol. 12 No. 2) for more on the strawberry projects. Or go to the section on methyl bromide alternatives at www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/mebralt/. The grants manager is Bev Ransom at (530) 754-8546 or baransom@ucdavis.edu.
For higher resolution images of the projects, please contact Lyra Halprin at (530) 752-8664 or lhalprin@ucdavis.edu.
Media Contacts:
Lyra Halprin, (530) 752-8664, lhalprin@ucdavis.edu
