Earlier this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued seven-year registrations for Corteva Agriscience’s Enlist One and Enlist Duo herbicides but included new restrictions to protect pollinators and endangered species.
EPA said the registration includes “robust control measures to protect non-target plants and animals” and will “ensure growers have access to effective pesticide tools for the 2022 growing season.”
The registrations allow spraying of Enlist One (2,4-D-choline) and Enlist Duo (2,4-D-choline and glyphosate) on cotton, corn and soybeans tolerant to the chemical in 34 states. Prior approvals for the two herbicides were set to expire this month.
Susanne Wasson, president of Crop Protection Business Platform for Corteva Agriscience, says Enlist properties “not only help protect rural neighbors but the updated label also increases protections for wildlife and habitats.”
The Enlist registrations were the first of their kind as EPA’s amendment process included updated data analyses and initiating appropriate agency consultations (for example, with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) to help confirm Enlist herbicides continue to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
The EPA says prior to Jan. 11, 2022, the agency “did not consistently assess the potential effects of conventional pesticides on listed species when registering new active ingredients.”
EPA’s ESA evaluation found that use of the two herbicides is likely to adversely affect listed species but will not lead to jeopardy of listed species or adverse modification of designated critical habitat.
As part of a revised settlement agreement, biological evaluations and determinations will continue with the EPA and the Center for Biological Diversity on the following pesticides:
• Atrazine
• Simazine
• Propazine
• Glyphosate
EPA is also actively considering how it may apply this new pesticide policy to antimicrobials and biopesticides in the future.
